


Heroes of Their Own Stories

by UnknownSatellite84



Category: Borderlands (Video Games)
Genre: (not between Rhys and Jack), Alcohol, Alternate Universe - Post-Canon, Atlas CEO Rhys, Attempted Seduction, Awkward Boners, Awkward Sexual Situations, Biting, Blood, Canon-Typical Violence, Chronic Pain, Cuddling & Snuggling, Drunken Shenanigans, Dubcon Kissing, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Explicit Sexual Content, F/F, Grinding, Huddling For Warmth, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Jack Has Issues, Jack being Jack, Jack is a Little Shit, M/M, Masturbation, Mild Gore, Multiple Pairings, Not Canon Compliant, Platonic Cuddling, Play Fighting, Rare Pairings, Slow Burn, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-05
Updated: 2019-08-05
Packaged: 2019-09-11 21:04:05
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 65,735
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16860271
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UnknownSatellite84/pseuds/UnknownSatellite84
Summary: Not every future can be predicted. The Vault of the Traveler only held pain and cryptic mysteries. Atlas is rising from it's grave, thanks to Rhys's efforts. Jack returns to reclaim his throne once more because heroes never die, apparently. It's unfortunate for Rhys they have unfinished business.A rhack-centric fic that takes place after the events of Tales from the Borderlands.





	1. The Vault of the Traveler

**Author's Note:**

> Yeah, I'm writing Borderlands fic now. I have not abandoned my Flash WIP, for those who follow my stuff, and I hope to update it soon as well.  
> Aaaanyway, I've been working on this fic for a few weeks now and decided to go ahead and start posting. I've a pretty clear idea on plot (since it's almost fully drafted) and such, but things may change along the way. There will probably be new tags in the future, too. Also other pairings I've tagged besides rhack will not have a major focus.

“What just happened?" Fiona breathed, sounding awestruck. She practically gaped, eyes wide. "Where the hell are we?”

Rhys’s own wide eyes turned around the massive room. It was striking. Glowing, purple crystals jutted from the walls and ceiling. Twisting shapes of alien design ran in disorienting patterns. The last thing he'd known was touching the weird glowy chest thing with Fiona, and now they were here? “We appear to be,” he assessed, “...in some sort of alien cave.” His eyes fell to the middle of the cavern. There was a strange hovering symbol. Not just any symbol, he thought. It was the infamous, well-known vault symbol.

“You think?” Fiona jibed. “What about that thing?” She pointed at the floating symbol. "And before you say the obvious, I mean besides the fact it's a vault symbol."

Rhys tried to scan the object, but his Echo Eye just displayed a bunch of confused question marks in every info slot. He'd hoped Atlas might have more information, considering they had originally been eyeing this vault. “I’ve...got nothing,” he admitted. “But it must be important. I mean... _look_ at it. It just screams, _'I’m important!'_ ”

Fiona smiled, but it seemed forced. “Maybe...it’s how we get rich.”

Rhys felt...disappointed, similar to when they’d found the Gortys core. Whatever this was, it didn’t seem worth all the trouble they’d gone through to get it. Still, Gortys had turned out to be quite worth it - mostly, having debatably came with her fair share of troubles - so maybe this would too. “You suppose...it’s...worth a lot of money?” He asked, shooting her a sheepish grin.

“If not we’ll be begging the others for scraps of whatever the Traveler dropped. Ugh, whatever. Surely some idiot somewhere wants this and will pay big money for it.” She put her hand on her hip with an annoyed look on her face. She was probably similarly disappointed there were no obvious treasures.

Rhys tried to joke. “Unfortunately there’s only one this time...soooo what’s to stop you from stabbing me and taking it for yourself?” He didn’t know why he felt so on edge.

She chuckled in response. “Aw, don’t worry. The whole Jack thing aside, I don’t feel so much like stabbing you anymore… Come on. Just grab the damn thing and let’s get out of here, this place is starting to creep me out.” She checked her sleeve pistol for emphasis, before casting wary eyes about the room.

“Why don’t _you_ grab it?”

She narrowed her eyes, scoffing. “You’re the one worried about me taking it for myself.”

“I’m...I’m not…” He sighed. “That- that was a joke.”

“I mean," Fiona started, taking a step forward, "if you’re scared of it, I can.”

“No," Rhys said, halting her in her tracks, "no, no, heh, _scared_? I’m not- not _scared_. Curious and ready to find out what that thing is, sure, but scared? Pffft... I’ve _totally_ got this.”

"Alright...then grab it, Mister-I'm-Not-Scared-Of-It." Fiona folded her arms.

"Yeah, I'm on it!" Rhys took a deep breath and walked up to the object.

As he drew close, the curiosity in his thoughts morphed into something stronger. It seemed to call to him, this symbol thing. He felt...a want. No, a _need_ . A need to _know_. The fear all but vanished. He had to seize it, take it, claim it-

He did.

And the symbol came to life, glowing a harsh purple that slowly changed into a bright yellow.

"Oh great, what'd you do this time?" Fiona asked.

"I didn't do anyth-" The symbol slipped through his fingers and flowed up his arm like liquid gold, sinking into his skin- 

Burning, everything _burned_ like fire. An ear splitting scream rang through the room. Rhys sank to the ground, the intense pain all he knew. He thought he heard someone shouting at him, but it all seemed….so far away, so very far away. The room blurred, senses going fuzzy and fading away, until everything was gone.

* * *

Rhys tried to open his eyes, but he couldn’t. It took too much effort. He heard someone saying something, sensed them standing near, but nothing made sense. His head was throbbing in a steady rhythm, heavy pressure on his skull like a vice. He groaned. There was also an incredible pain in his left arm, like the limb had been broken in several places. The burning felt as if it went down to the very bone. He wanted to shut it out. He couldn’t.

The pain doubled in strength. He cried out. Body contorting, he could do nothing but hang on to whatever was under his hands as the debilitating agony flowed through his entire body, tightening in his chest until he couldn't even breathe. Tears welled in his eyes, and he just wanted it to end. _Please stop please please please-_ With each passing moment, his exhaustion grew deeper, and his throat started aching from his screaming and he could feel nothing else at all.

The agony lessened.

His eyes flew open as he sobbed in a breath of relief. He regretted it. His chest ached, and the gold lights of the Atlas room lanced into his skull. He slammed his eyes shut again.  " _Fuck_..." He lay there, panting, nerves tingling, a less pronounced ache lingering literally everywhere else in his body. He could feel a layer of sweat on his brow, tears on his face.

A tired voice reached his ears. “Mr. Rhys? Can you hear me now?”

Rhys peeled his eyes open once more, squinting against the light, long enough to recognize the figure standing over him before shutting them again. “Unng. Hey... Dr. Shen...” He wanted to lift his arm to wipe his brow, but it felt far too heavy. “What’s...happening?”

“I...honestly don’t know, sir. I'd love it if I did.”

“You...don’t know?” Rhys repeated, forcing his eyes open once again. He looked down and saw... Well, he wasn't sure _what_ he was seeing. In the gold-hued lights of the room, he made out what seemed to be...a sheath of a purple-gray hue formed over his hand and wrist. The texture had woven into his flesh in a sick and twisted pattern that had left imprints all the way up to his elbow. He immediately felt sick, felt wrong, felt gross. “What...the hell?” He struggled to recall what had caused this.

“I can't believe... Well, I didn’t think you were going to wake up. You’ve been out for several weeks.”

“ _Weeks_?” Rhys asked, alarm shooting through him. “How? What the hell is going on here?”

“Your friend, uh, _Fiona_? Fiola? I think? She said this happened in the vault.” Dr. Shen frowned. “Knew the alien shit was good for nothing.”

“What’s...what’s going to happen...?” Rhys cleared his throat, before twitching his shoulder. "My arm."

“It seems alright for now,” the man was staring at his arm now, face full of bewilderment. “As for what it is, and why it's like this... Honestly can’t tell you." He gave a brief shrug. "My expertise is in cybernetic implanting as an M.D. Not alien mutations.”

"M-mutation?" Rhys swallowed, fighting the growing panicky feeling. “So uh...maybe, maybe I can just..." He gave a shaky laugh. "Cut it off? I don’t mind having two metal arms, especially if it...gets rid of this damn thing.”

“Mr. Rhys, the infection-”

“Oh, _infection_ , is that what it is? You couldn't have mentioned that sooner?"

“I don't know what it is!" The man exclaimed, voice fraying in a way that indicated someone who has not slept in a day or two. _"Whatever_ it is. Trying to lop it off could just facilitate it’s spread...like a cancer, especially if it runs deeper than the arm, which I suspect.”

“Oh great, so I have alien _cancer_ now, that’s quite a leap from infection-”

“Quit getting hung up on the words, sir.”

“What am I supposed to do?!” Rhys asked. “I don’t know what the hell this thing is, and now it could potentially spread further?! Not even to mention it hurts like a bitch!” Almost before he ended the sentence, a thought popped into his head. He tried to sit up. The doctor stopped him.

“Mr. Rhys, you should rest. Seriously.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know, but I need to...to contact _someone_. Look, Doc, you’ve done great, I'm sure, but even you have to admit this alien shit is right out of your purview.”

“That's...what I've been saying this whole time, sir.”

Rhys chose to ignore the dry tone. “Well, there are people who _do_ know a lot about alien shit. I need to get into contact with some of them, and that's going to take awhile-”

“I’m already on it,” a new voice chipped in. Rhys glanced up as Yvette clicked into the room, a worried scowl on her face. "Fiona told everyone what happened."

"Yvette!" He said. "Aren't you a sight for sore eyes!" He groaned, wincing as a fresh wave of pain rolled through his head. "Ugh, literally."

“It's great to see you awake, Rhys! I've been worried sick!"

"Uh...what were you saying about, y'know... _being on it_?"

"I’m in the process of contacting someone called Dr. Tannis. She’ll know something. It hasn't been easy, given that she seems to live alone and out in the middle of the wastelands, but...we're doing our best.”

Rhys blinked. “Uh...okay?”

“Also, I’m your secretary now. I’ll get you caught up on the details later, but we also have several other newhires from the Children of Helios. They love you, apparently."

“Oh...I see... Well, I hadn't hired much yet, because I thought the vault was going to get us rich, but...apparently not.”

“You're welcome.”

Rhys sighed. "Sorry...I'm...just out of it right now. Thanks, Yvette."

She nodded.

Rhys wondered why he was surprised by her initiative. She was a shrewd, intelligent woman who knew her way around corporate offices and affairs. Rhys was glad for her assistance. And way back before all the bullshit with Vasquez, she'd already been planning on being his secretary after his promotion. God, that...felt so long ago.

Another thought occurred to him. "Uh, have you heard from Vaughn?"

"He's not one of the new hires, if that's what you're asking. I think he's taken a liking to that rugged sort of life he's built down there at the Helios camp."

"Yeah, he sure seemed to." Rhys winced. He directed his next question at Dr. Shen. “So, Doc...got any painkillers lying around?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you're curious, you won't have to wait too much longer for Jack :P. This chap is kind of like a prologue for the fic


	2. Return of the King

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is your fair warning that I have a very loose understanding of corporate workings and such. Hopefully my portrayal isn't too horrible. :P

Handsome Jack hated oversleeping. Well, hated sleep in general. It made his head thick and groggy because waking up was hard. And god this sure felt exactly like that... But, he lay on a cold surface that burned? Where had he passed out this time? With a groan, he sat up, trying to orient himself.

"Hello, Jack," said a voice. Female.

Jack's eyes snapped open, adrenaline forcing him wide awake. What he saw pissed him off.

_Bars?_

Someone trying to lock him up? Oooh they were going to regret that! He tried to stand up, but he wobbled dizzyingly. "Frig," he growled, reaching for his gun, only to find it too was absent. "You better start running really fast, asshole, because when I get outta here-"

"You won't. Not yet."

Jack finally focused on the speaker on the other side of the bars. A tall woman in silvery robes with equally silver hair and a wizened face. She had a blue tattoo on her neck that seemed...kind of familiar... It had a circular shape with triangles around it, maybe a depiction of a sun or star? How the hell should he know? "Do I know you?" Jack blurted, frustrated by the sense he knew something about her, but he had no idea what it could be. "You seem...kinda familiar."

"No, you don't," Silver Lady answered.

"What. The. Hell. Is. Going. On. Here?" He hissed. "And if you lie to me-"

"Threats are unnecessary. I will tell you what you need to know. You are alive, because your role is necessary. It was not easy work bringing you back. Months have passed, and my assistants have been hard at work the entire time." She began pacing, heavy boots thumping against the floor with each step. "But you have been successfully restored to your body, as was seen."

Jack worked on standing up. Once he found his balance, he gritted his teeth and stepped forward. If he wasn't so dizzy, he probably could easily pry the bars apart. They weren't that thick to begin with. It was a matter of waiting at this point for his head to clear. "Missed the king, eh?" he asked, grinning, taking a chance to observe his confinement and the metal bed - god, seriously? Metal? - he'd been on.

Silver Lady gestured as if waving his sentence away. "As I said, it was necessary."

"Necessary for what?" he muttered, pleased to feel his senses starting to clear. Oh, they were going to regret screwing with Handsome goddamned Jack!

"That is not information you need."

"Oh screw you!" Jack spat, "I'm done playing games!" He seized the cell bars.

Silver Lady merely nodded. "Fair enough. I trust you do not need assistance in your escape?"

"The fuck does that mean?"

She actually smiled - fucking _smiled -_ in response, as if Jack wasn't a frightening sight to behold (and Jack knew it, if the amount of times his underlings wetted themselves when he so much as looked at them were any indication). But here Silver Lady was, acting as if he was just an amusing mouse in a cage. Oh he would show her-

"Do try to have fun. It's not often I have to leave my assistants to be cannon fodder," she said before snapping her fingers. A door opened behind her, and she strolled through it. It snapped shut, looking for all intents and purposes, like the rest of the wall.

Jack pried his way out with a yell. _Nobody_ toyed with him. He soon learned with more anger that the wall was completely inaccessible. "Freakin' coward!" He yelled at it. Whatever. This was wasting his time. He wasn't getting through _that_ with his bare hands. A quick search of his immediate surroundings revealed a few guns leaning against the wall. He grabbed one, and went marching down the hall.

He quickly found lot of idiot bandits in need of a good killing in the next several rooms. Unfortunately, it became clear the silver one had vanished without trace.

He needed to out what the hell was going on, exactly.

* * *

.

* * *

Rhys strolled to the front of the presentation room, riding a wave of confidence. In spite of his inward excitement, he found it easy to keep his stride even and calm, the inner businessman taking over without missing a beat. And the excitement? Well, he finally had everything he wanted. Almost.

“What is so important, Rhys,” Mr. Whitman asked. “that we had to call this meeting to this craphole planet? Just because _you’ve_ taken a liking to it, doesn’t mean the rest of us have. No amount of shielding could keep the sand out of my coat, and now it's ruined. Waste of good money.”

Rhys had risen Atlas from it’s dry and uninspiring grave as Hyperion’s former doormat almost single-handedly. And he’d done so in part by contacting old shareholders to bring in some true money. Not all had been keen on it, but many were persuaded by promises of having a seat on the board.

Mr. Whitaker had never been a fan of Rhys. Something about...arrogance, or...ignorance? Rhys couldn’t remember. Not that he’d been listening to _that_ pointless rant in the first place. Either way, he was confident Mr. Whitaker’s outlook on life - and by extension, the man's outlook on himself - was about to change.

“Why, Mr. Whitaker,” Rhys spoke pleasantly, “it’s because I have made a discovery that will blow your little mind.”

Mr. Whitaker sneered.

“Then tell us,” said Mr. Brown, one of the other members. Older, and far more intelligent, Mr. Brown actually had business sense, a knack for numbers, in-depth knowledge of the competitive market, and a clear understanding of business hierarchy.

Also, he wasn’t an asshole, so that was a plus.

Rhys raised his cybernetic arm, opening his hand palm-up while activating his Echo Eye. “For convenience, I have forwarded an overview of the information in the presentation to your Echo devices.”

Mr. Whitaker scanned the info quickly, his mouth dropping with each bit he took in. Rhys watched him like free comedy but continued on without comment, smug, “Ladies and Gentlemen… Over the past month, I have been doing some extensive research with trusted Eridian specialist, Patricia Tannis, and it turns out the Vault of the Traveler was a precedent to something even _greater_. So while it appeared to bring nothing but pain and annoyance, within the extensive information in the chamber...lay directions for _another_ vault. The vault in question appeared on some little dwarf terrestrial planet on the edge of this solar system when the Vault of the Traveler was opened-”

“What the hell is this!?” Mr. Whitaker exclaimed, dropping his Echo pad and meeting Rhys’s gaze. “Even if it were in t-”

“Please save your questions for the end of the presentation, Mr. Whitaker,” Rhys said, never ceasing his smile. “It will not take much longer, and I don’t abide interruptions in my boardroom.”

Mr. Whitaker frowned, folding his arms, but said no more.

“Excellent,” Rhys said, “now, as I was saying... Where was I?” He made a show of tapping his neural port. He paced forward a few steps. “Oh yes, I remember now. Ladies and Gents, you must know the old Hyperion became a god among gods for exactly two reasons. One, they had a smart and competent leader-”

There was a snort from Whitaker, an uneasy stir from the others.

“-and _two_ ,” Rhys pushed on, “said leader got rich, powerful, and infamous from vaults and Eridium. If we want to be on top of the game - that is, the market, the news stations, the horde of companies looking to tear us down before we can truly establish ourselves - _this_ must be _our_ goal.” Rhys pulled up the holographic projection of the new vault marked in the solar system at the front of the room. “The planet where the new vault lies is smaller than even Elpis, but it is there. It's called Iphus. I have sent a few teams to report back with information- meteorological readings, topographic reports, seismographs, climate feedback, etcetera, etcetera. I understand it's very cold there.” Rhys turned and leaned against the table. “Most importantly, I have gained confirmation. Confirmation that the vault _is_ there. It was not hard to find, apparently, and will be accessible in a few months, no less-”

“This is absolutely absurd!” Mr. Whitaker exclaimed.

“Mr. Whitaker!” Mrs. Lane spoke up, looking even more annoyed that Rhys usually was by the man. “That is inappropriate!” She was another of the competent sort.

“No, no,” Rhys waved his hand, “let the man speak. He’s obviously _bursting_ with questions and just can't be held back any longer. And my presentation is over.” He put his hands on the table. “So, why is this plan...ahem, _absurd_ , I think was the word used, Mr. Whitaker?”

Mr. Whitaker huffed, puffing out like a self-important rooster. _Heh, a cock,_ Rhys thought, because the man was certainly a dick. “Maybe the fact that every single vault has brought overall negative returns for those who open them! They don’t hold treasures, just bullshit cryptic mysteries. I thought _you more than anyone_ would know that-!”

“No, no, no, Mr. Whitaker. I don’t recall you being an expert on Eridian vaults. Is this a new hobby of yours?”

“Anyone with ears has heard of Pandora’s vaults and what lies within them, Mr. Rhys. Hyperion’s leader - Handsome Jack- he _died_ because of a vault. Helios fell because of another vault! If we don’t want that fate, we must avoid them. Alien shit is not the way forward! Pursuing this is asking for a slow and painful death, not just to our persons, but to this company!”

Rhys cleared his throat, running a hand through his hair. “Helios...fell because of its resistance to Atlas- to _me_ … Not because of the vault. Hyperion would’ve been just fine without Handsome Jack, if they’d simply allowed me to fill his shoes.” His smile faltered, and he shook his head. “That’s not the point. The point is that what lies in the vaults is too _valuable_ to pass up. Atlas needs this. _We_ need this.”

“You obviously don’t even know what is really _inside_ this vault!” Mr. Whitaker threw his hands up. “And how the hell do you even plan to open it without a key!? Did you find one of those too?”

Rhys's smile widened. “Oh don’t worry about that. This vault doesn’t need a key. Not in the sense they usually do.”

“What?”

“I told you the Vault of the Traveler was the precedent. It turns out, when I accessed it, I was granted the power of opening this next vault. It has no key...other than me.”

“How the hell do you know that?”

“The Eridian specialist helped me figure that out.” Rhys raised his currently-debatably human arm, flexing his fingers inside the thick black glove that hid the...mutation, or whatever it was. Even Dr. Tannis had seemed stumped by it. But her studies did find that he could open this new vault, so it must be related to that.

Mr. Whitaker scowled so hard, it was a wonder his face didn’t just fall off. “If you pursue this, I’m withdrawing my money from your company. Let’s see how long you last without my support, Mr. Rhys.”

Rhys sighed exaggeratedly. He’d expected this. “That’s...unfortunate, Mr. Whitaker. You are passing up on the opportunity of a _lifetime_. You will not change your mind?”

“I absolutely will _not_! Hmph!” Mr. Whitaker stood, jabbing a finger at Rhys. “You will _never_ be Handsome Jack, try as you might, and _everyone_ knows it. So you can stop pretending before you embarrass yourself for real by dying in some unnamed corner of this hell system…Those are my parting words to you, Mr. Rhys.”

“Why ever would I want to be a man who died?" Rhys snapped, indignation getting the better of him. " _Please_ , I’m- I'm waaay better than Handsome Jack ever was.”

Whitaker ignored him. “Good luck continuing to fund your expedition on the...whatever planet.”

“I am very sorry to see you go,” Rhys said, putting his cyber hand on his chest, “with all of my heart.”

Whitaker turned and marched through the door. Rhys tracked his steps through it, and after counting three, he watched Whitaker halt. Whitaker raised a hand and touched his chest, and without warning, he pitched forward and fell to the floor.

Rhys saw their confusion as the other board members got up and rushed to the unmoving body. “Contact the medical team!” Mr. Brown said.

Rhys didn’t move from his spot as he watched them do just that. “Status?” he asked.

Mrs. Lane replied, “No pulse.”

“How unfortunate.”

The others milled about, someone muttering, “the hell? Did he…?” the person - Rhys couldn’t remember their name at that particular moment - trailed off when they accidently met Rhys’s gaze.

The medical team arrived. They made efforts to resuscitate Mr. Whitaker, but were unsuccessful.

“Confirmation, please?”

“Dead. Time of death is 11:05 standard galaxy time.”

“The cause of death?”

One of the medics looked up. “Symptoms indicate heart failure, but we’ll need an autopsy to confirm. Older guy like this, seems likely.”

Rhys spotted Yvette. She walked in, only casting a brief glance at the corpse before stepping around it. She didn’t even blink. “We’ll have the autopsy performed,” she said in an all-business tone, walking over to Rhys. “But something tells me you don’t need the confirmation on the cause.” She handed him a datapad on the newest results.

“The cause of death? Idiocy, asshole-ry, general lack of human decency,” Rhys replied, “nothing more, nothing less.” He cleared his throat. “Yvette, please contact Mr. Whitaker’s daughter and let her know she just inherited a large share in Atlas. I trust she will be far more sensible with it. I did the research.”

“Of course.” Yvette walked away, clicking a pen.

As they filed out, Rhys sat back in one of the empty chairs. “It’s good to be king,” he murmured, pouring some wine.

* * *

There was a thrumming, a deep base resonating through the room, music designed to light the blood on fire, to send the urge to sway to the sounds, hypnotic and twisting. Rhys made his way to his preferred VIP booth. It was a large thing, soft as down. Rhys didn't have to wait long for his usual. All the while, he kept touching his changed hand, couldn’t stop even though it only agitated the dull ache within every time. The rough texture of it could be felt under the glove. He wished he could figure it out.

Painkillers didn't work all that well, but at least the pain was tolerable most of the time now. It was a part of him now. Still, when he had little work to distract him, this made it easier to forget it. 

Someone sat across from him, and Rhys grumbled without bothering to look up, “not tonight.”

“Good thing that’s not why I’m here.”

Rhys looked up. “Fiona?"

" _Yep_." She sat there in a fancy black coat and matching black hat with sharp red accents.

"It’s been...awhile. What...months?" he said, a smile coming across his face. He took a sip of his drink. “So...h-how did you...find me here, exactly?”

“I think everyone knows what you get up to on Saturdays. Just so happened to be the day I wanted to chat.”

“What does that mean?”

"It means people are starting to notice you and what you do, which should be obvious, even for you, what with Atlas returning and eyeing the new vault on Iphus. Everyone thinks it's gonna be the usual corporate screw-over all over again.”

“Well, it won't,” Rhys said. "Unlike some people from the past, I learned from their mistakes." He felt a playful smile curve his face. "Besides, I happened to hear you were making a bit of a stir yourself, _Vault Hunter_."

"Yeah." She shifted. "So this vault... It must be pretty interesting if you're going after it."

“ _Fiona_ ,” he said, “is _someone_ hoping for dibs?”

"I'd be lying if I said I wasn't."

“Then I hire you as my vault hunter.”

“Just like that?”

“Just like that. We’re friends, right?”

She hesitated. "I...suppose I can live with that, yeah."

"Oh come on! I'm not even holding it against you that you made me touch that vault symbol."

"You wanted to!"

Rhys laughed. “It- it was a joke... Anyway, is Sasha around then? How’s she doing?” He hadn’t really gotten a chance to catch up with her after the vault had been opened. She’d left while he was still out. Typical.

Fiona shook her head. “Nope. Said she’d sooner cut off her own fingers than come back to Pandora. Though we keep in contact via Echo. I would've left with her...but I wanted to continue vault hunting.”

“Can’t say I blame her. This planet sucks,” Rhys muttered. He drank again. "I'm surprised you didn't take off for another system. There are other vaults out there. And the Iphus one was a recent discovery."

"Well, I was going to..." She hesitated. "But Felix hired another vault hunter to train me after Athena...retired. So...I stuck around a bit longer than I intended." She ran a hand through her hair, a nervous habit of hers. Rhys wondered what she might be nervous about. “Anyway," she cleared her throat. “How are you feeling? After what happened in the vault, I thought you were going to bite it, to be honest.”

“Fiona...if I didn't know any better, I'd think you were actually worried about me," he said teasingly.

"You got me. But just a little, like this much," she held her fingers apart a few centimeters.

"How sweet." Rhys snorted. "And I'm perfectly fine, thank you!"

"If you say so. Anyway, give a call when you've got something for me." Her Echo gave an alert, and she glanced at it. "Oh, I, uh...gotta take this. See you later, Rhys." She seemed distracted as she walked off.

Rhys shrugged and returned to his drink.

* * *

Rhys entered his house, greeted by a small red and white robot wheeling up to him. “Hiya, Rhys!” She waved a hand, giving her equivalent of a pleased smile.

“Hey, Gortys!” Rhys crouched down to get eye-level with the bot, or well, _more_ eye-level.

She seemed even happier. “Did you have a good day?”

She asked this every time he got home after being gone all day, and it was almost too sweet. “It was alright,” Rhys admitted. “Could've been better, could've been worse. Oh, and Fiona's back."

"Oh my gosh! I wanna see her again! She's so cool! Did you invite her over?"

Rhys chuckled. God, Gortys was always so adorable and it never failed to cheer Rhys up. "Ah, no, but I did hire her to help me find a vault."

"That's _amazing_. I hope she gets a chance to visit sometime, though. Maybe she'll finally teach me how to con people!"

Rhys laughed. "I...I don't think that's something you need to know, but, um... What about you? How- how've you been doing?”

“I’ve been doing _great_!” She said, waving her hands animatedly. “Loader Bot and I watched some movies, then hung out at the new shopping center. It’s huge! And there's sooo many people! And then we went and watched this rakk migration!”  

Rhys was glad she never changed. She was so cute and uplifting. He looked around. “So where is LB? Sleeping off some...ice cream flavored oil or something?”

“Ice cream flavored oil?!" She exclaimed. "Ooooh, that sounds so tasty! But robots can't really taste, so maybe not." She rocked a little.

"Guess you need some tastebuds, because ice cream is the _ichor of the gods_."

"Ooooh, yeah. I would love to. Anyway, LB went ahead and plugged in for the night. You should upgrade his chassis so he doesn’t have to recharge so much!”

“I will add that to the list. Unfortunately, Hyperion didn't design loaders to have long batteries, so it may require some rewiring."

"Oh."

"But don't worry, I'll look into it."

She "smiled" again.

Two small drones buzzed into view, very Atlassian in design. _“Reporting for duty, sir!”_ they chorused.

Rhys waved them off. “Take the night off. I’m fine.”

“But sir!” one of the robots said. “You say that every night!”

"If someone tries to break in, that’ll change...Dumpy.” Rhys had finally cleaned up the drone’s voice modulator. Mostly. He still swore it was a little too shrill with a tiny hint of static. Still, he'd decided it was fine. He even made Dumpy a companion named Shiny, which seemed fitting at the time. Shiny was a bit more impressive to look at, being newer and with fewer replaced parts, but they made a nice pair of personal security drones. And their differences made it easier to tell them apart.

Dumpy gave a little aerial bounce. “I would destroy them. Give them a good zap.”

The other drone spoke, “I would shoot their legs! Then they can’t run away!”

“But zapping is more fun!” Dumpy said, somehow pouting, even though he had no face.

Shiny replied, “maybe, but we still have to find out what evil they’re up to.”

" _Then_ we destroy them!"

"I'm...okay with that."

Rhys walked past them, calling back, “I’m going to bed! Gortys, no loud music.”

“Of course!” She said. "Why would I do that?"

 _"Good night, sir!"_ The drones said.

Rhys’s Echo pinged, halting him in his tracks. He sighed and looked down to where a message waited on the screen.

 _Hey? Rhys?_ _??_

It was from an unknown user. Great.

 _Who is this?_ he sent back.

 _We met at the club. I have something of yours you left behind. Could you come down?_ There was a smiley face at the end of the sentence.

Rhys searched his mind, trying to recall if he’d left anything there recently. Maybe...oh! _You have my missing sock?_

 _Yes, I do!_ It was followed by a sock emoji and a tongue-stuck-out-winky face.

Rhys rubbed his head. _I’ll be over right over, sock thief._

_Perfect._

Rhys started to leave the house, catching Gortys’s attention in the process. “Whatcha doing?” She asked. "I'm pretty sure your bed is the other way."

“Yeah, yeah, I know. I just...forgot something. I’ll be home soon.”

“Oooh, can I come along? I want to see your office!”

“It’s nothing fun or exciting, I promise, and it's not even at the office. Don't worry. If you want, I'll take you to work Monday!”

"Awesome! Yes, you have a deal!"

Rhys left, climbed into his car, and took off driving. He fiddled with the radio.

Another car emerged from behind a set of tall rocks, peeling into the road in front of him. Rhys's Echo Eye tried to alert him to the impending crash, but it was too late. Rhys tried to swerve, but the speed was too much. He grazed the side of the other vehicle, careening towards a ditch. He shrieked.

Impact. Rhys was jarred wildly. Everything dimmed for a minute, and then Rhys found himself blinking in darkness. His Echo Eye started giving him feedback at a furious speed, the gist of which seemed to be he wasn't badly injured. It was fortunate he wore his seatbelt, but he could feel a sharp pain along the straps. That was going to bruise, which was the least of his problems right now.

God, what was that asshole doing getting out in front of him like that?! He reached out, feeling for the belt latch. He released it, slumping forward and groaning. With the way the vehicle had landed, angled into the ditch, he knew his door wasn’t going to open. He forced himself to move and crawled to the passenger side, pushing it open with some effort.

He pushed out, sprawling into the dirt. He grunted and clambered to his feet. His eyes landed on someone approaching from the direction of the other vehicle.

He stared, before feeling his mouth drop. "I...whaa..."

“Hey there, kiddo!" Rhys was taken by an all-too-familiar, handsome smile behind a Hyperion-yellow pistol clasped in a large hand. "I sure hope you didn’t forget our unfinished business. That would be very...unprofessional. By the way, Rhysie buddy, you owe me like...a _lot_ of friggin' money, which isn’t even the half of it.”

Alright. Okay. There...was probably a rational explanation here. Maybe Rhys was hallucinating.

Well. It sure didn't feel like a hallucination. Jack stood there before him in all his usual grandstanding glory, too tall, too large, larger than life. It was the same too-many-layers-of-clothing-Jack. The same murderous-glint-stuck-in-his-eyes Jack. They were heterochromatic. Well, Rhys had known that already, but... _damn_. They were something else in person. He was so used to that blue hologram Jack. In fact, even Jack's skin tones were so _rich,_ the mask a few shades too light.

Jack approached, face unreadable.

“Jaack!” Rhys said and glanced around quickly, but the defenses built into his car...seemed unresponsive. Was that intentional? Probably. He only half registered the thought that this was probably how he was going to die. He raised his hands placatingly, staring at his approaching demise. “Could you...uh make an appointment with my secretary, please? I’m a very busy man now-”

"Pipe down, cupcake. We're just gonna have a little chat."

"A chat?"

"Yeah, dumdum, a _chat_."

"Oh, right...does- does this chat involve...murder?"

Jack grinned. And punched him.

In the face.

Everything went black.


	3. Just Warms the Heart

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Edit 12/17/18 - Fixed a bit of dialogue that was bothering me.

“Hey, pumpkin," came a familiar voice through the fog in Rhys’s head, "you awake yet?”

_Jack…?_

Jack was...in his head. No, that wasn’t right. He shouldn't be.

“Got a little rough on you, but...you seem to have a tough noggin, soooo…”

Rhys tried to focus on the voice. It didn’t seem to be coming from in his head. It was...beside him. Rhys felt a sharp pain lance through his left arm, and he groaned. Oh yes, _that_ seemed right on schedule.

“I mean, all those cybernetics have to be good for something, right?”

Rhys opened his eyes. He forced himself to look up and take in the situation. He saw rolling, moonlit, snow-covered landscapes out of a...windshield? They were in...a car. His hands were cuffed behind him, and he was locked into the passenger seat with the seatbelt. That was probably more to keep him in place rather than for his safety. He turned his eyes to the driver - Jack - who was only half paying attention to his driving. The rest of Jack’s attention seemed to be going towards Rhys as he side-eyed him with raised eyebrows.

This was...weird. Maybe not surprising, but definitely weird.

"Wha's...going on?" Rhys muttered, still groggy. This...waking up confused thing sucked. How was Jack even alive? And...if he wasn’t going to kill Rhys, then what did he want?

Jack’s right hand moved animatedly from the steering wheel. "In case you haven't noticed, you're in my car! Pretty sweet right! Brand spankin' new! Seat warmers! Contact-activated-dopamine-injectors! Costs more than most people make in a lifetime!" He sounded very cheerful. "By the way, I...sort of kidnapped you, but _eh_ , that's just a technicality, beside the point. Just wanted to...catch up with my ole buddy!"

Rhys...didn't feel much like talking. His head hurt. He decided to go with a more simple solution. He tried to scan Jack with his Echo Eye, only to realize the implant was completely offline, dark and unseeing. That was also when he realized his cyber arm was dead weight, unresponsive and numb behind him. "What...did you do to my cybernetics?"

“Yeah, figured you’d get all _scan happy_ , so- I put a stop to that! 'Sides, didn't know what you might be hiding in them. You're quite ruthless, Rhysie dear. Crashing an entire space station with thousands of people in it? Who knows what you would've done left unchecked! Hacked the whole car and blew it up? I dunno. You wild.”

“Never say that again, please.”

“Whaaat? It’s true.”

“I...no, just...” Rhys shook his head, wincing. "Did you send me that Echo message?"

"Yep! _Bravo_!" Jack said, grinning like a kid on Mercenary Day. "Tracking you down to that new Atlas facility was pretty easy. All I had to do was wait after I sent the message. You really should be more careful driving alone."

Rhys frowned. "That car had defenses!”

"Which I disabled."

"Yeah, but- but they would've-"

“Say it, kid.”

"Say what?"

"That I win."

Rhys glared. "I'm not saying-"

“Comeoncomeoncomeon-”

"No."

"You're no fun, kitten!"

Rhys rolled his eyes. “You’re just making my headache worse! God, you’re just as annoying as I remember!”

Jack clamped a large hand on his shoulder, causing Rhys to jump. “Come on, cupcake. Just admit it. _I_ thought of everything! Me, myself, and I! The one and only Handsome Jack! _God_ I'm so smart! And don't change the subject! I’m onto you."

Rhys turned his glare out the window, falling silent. He was not doing this right now.

"Aw, don't be like that."

If Rhys didn't know better, he'd think Jack was pouting. He shut his eyes, leaning his head against the cool glass. That helped a little. Jack hadn't been wrong. He couldn't come up with an escape plan without his cybernetics. He'd...just have to hope for the best right now... “Figured you were gonna...kill me,” he mumbled. He didn’t really want to wonder why he was still alive. Because the obvious answer well...wasn’t pleasant.

“We still have to catch up, Rhysie! By the way, you're being way obvious now with that whole changing the subject thing."

Rhys pushed on. “And what exactly do we have to catch up on?”

"Oh my- Fiiine, I'll let it go. For _now_. And for starters, you could catch me up on this new vault." Jack planted his hand back on the steering wheel, lips pursed.

Rhys was suspicious. "What...what about it?"

"What's so special about it that you've got almost all of Atlas crawling all over it?"

Rhys frowned again. Nope. He was not falling for _that_. "Just leave it alone."

Jack gesticulated widely, obviously becoming annoyed for the first time. “What the frig does that mean?!”

Rhys groaned. He still didn’t really feel like talking at the moment, and he’d probably acted far too odd about the vault. He was too tired and achy to navigate this sort of conversation. He let his eyes slide close, wondering if he could go back to being unconscious if he tried hard enough.

He heard Jack shift. There was a sudden, cold pressure against his temple, digging right against his neural port, sending a shock down his body. He gasped and snapped his eyes open to find that same Hyperion pistol from before pointed at his brain. Jack was sending him death glares in between driving. “I asked you a question, Rhysie.” His voice was dangerous.

Rhys considered his options for a moment. Jack probably wasn’t going to kill him over this. Rhys was alive right now for a reason. So this was probably more for show than anything. But Rhys wasn’t willing to gamble on that. Jack was known to have anger issues. And he knew Jack was too stubborn to let this go. If by some chance he _did_ let it go now, he’d only press harder later.

Rhys cleared his throat, making his decision. "It's got...y'know, vault stuff. Loot. The usual."

Jack laughed at that, and the laughter somehow sounded more mocking than usual. He lowered his gun. "Are you telling me you _don't know what's in it?_ "

"I...I have ideas," Rhys replied vaguely. "Weren't you all about the vaults or whatever?"

"Look, kid, every vault contains something unique. Power, knowledge, riches. Usually a monster to deal with. Sometimes the gain isn’t something you’d immediately notice, so I’ve always made sure to figure out what the vault contains before opening it. _Three_ vaults, Rhysie, were opened by my will. And I always had a pretty clear idea what they held."

“You opened _three_ ? I thought you only opened _one_?”

“Yeah, no, the first vault is what you're probably thinking of. Made Hyperion rich. The second vault didn’t have much in it, so it was easier to keep a secret. The third vault Hyperion was lead to believe was never successfully opened due to…” Jack made a strange sound, like a strangled cat, which might have been funny in any other situation. “Well...I guess I died. Or something. But it _was_ opened. It contained...the _Warrior_.”

“Warrior?” Rhys echoed blankly.

“A weapon of mass destruction. Those...vault hunters destroyed it though. Still can’t imagine how, but, uh, guess they did.”

Rhys shifted. "A...weapon of mass destruction..." It clicked. "You...were gonna destroy the populations of Pandora."

"Kill the bandits, the psychos...but yeah. A fresh start. Seemed...like a good idea. At the time. Not so much in retrospect." Jack shook his head, knuckles white on the steering wheel. "So...are you blindly opening this vault, Rhysie, or do you know what's in it? Because if you don't...it's gonna fuck you over big time."

"I..." Rhys had to make a decision here. And he did. "Not really. All I know is it was linked to the Vault of the Traveler."

Jack snorted. "That's really stupid, princ-"

A sudden roar blared against Rhys’s eardrums. His eyes flew to the rearview mirror to see a spike-adorned monster truck with psychos clinging to it flying up on them. The headlights were blinding bright, the motor louder than hell itself.

Jack exclaimed, “oh wonderful!”

"Oh great," Rhys said at the same time. Jack floored the gas pedal, sending Rhys crashing back against his seat. "Bandits! That's _exactly_ what I was hoping for, Jack, so thanks sooo much for this. I just _love_ this planet so much!"

“Chill out, I’ll take care of ‘em.” Jack was fiddling with some buttons on the dash.

Rhys looked again at their adversaries. He saw one of the bandits hefting a huge object and pointing it at them. “Uh, don’t look now, but I think that one’s got a rocket launcher.”

“Time for some fun,” Jack growled, pushing a button. A turret emerged from the back of the car and began unloading a steady stream of bullets on their pursuers. The bandit with the rocket launcher fired, causing their car to veer right. Jack wildly corrected it, somehow preventing a crash, all the while growling like a feral dog.

Rhys hated this. A lot. He was not built for high speed chases. Or unexpected violence. Or any sort of violence really. "We’re outmatched,” he yelped. “Turn on my cybernetics!"

"What? Why would I do that, pumpkin?"

"I'll hack their truck!"

"Hell no! I ain’t falling for that, you opportunistic little shit!"

Well, it was worth a try. “In my defense, I would have gotten rid of the bandits first.”

To his surprise, Jack cackled in response. Another rocket hit the road beside them. Good thing that bandit had poor aim, probably because there was still some distance between their vehicles.

The truck was gaining on them. Rhys could make out details on the psychos' weird, bloodied masks. The bandits started firing more guns. Bullets pinged off the car.

"Don't worry," Jack said, eyes in rearview mirror, "this car is designed to withstand bullets."

Rhys’s attention was drawn out the window. "Uuuh, is- is it designed to withstand a very large, very pissed off badass alpha skag?!"

"What?!"

The beast had torn out of a snow bank on the left side, shaking, howling and spitting. The thing was larger than the car and looked like it weighed a couple tons, it's hide armored and jutting spikes. Jack swerved viciously around it, throwing Rhys sideways in his seat. He winced as his head smacked the glass of the window. That wasn’t helping anything. The creature roared and gave chase. It's steps shook the ground, and Rhys could see it's flapping tongue in the mirror. Of course it chose to go after _them_ and not the bandit infested truck, which would have been a nice break.

Would this night ever end?

“So, this is probably a very bad thing, right?” Rhys asked.

“It’s a piece of cake is what it is,” Jack responded. “I just got the perfect idea!” He pushed another button, and a second turret popped out, this one larger and thicker. It shot a rocket at the skag. It exploded on the beast’s legs, causing it to stumble and fall. The monster truck crashed into the skag, exploding into pieces on it’s armored hide.

Rhys exclaimed, "wow, that worked! Why didn't you use that sooner?"

"Didn't want to waste it. It only has one shot."

Rhys laughed with relief. He looked forward.

"Can't beat Ja-"

"JACK!"

They crashed into a snow drift in the road, the car embedding into the dense white powder. Rhys was flung forward, the seatbelt biting into him, his vision darkening from whiplash. He was half aware of Jack hitting reverse and flooring it, but the tires spun uselessly in the snow and ice. "Damn it!"

Rhys’s eyes raised as a shadow fell over them. He saw the skag limping toward them, blood dripping down it’s legs. "Oooh boy...that's...definitely not good." The vehicle groaned, shifting. A huge indent appeared in the roof, a crack crawling across the windshield. “It’s climbing on the roof!” Rhys yelled. "How is this car bulletproof!?"

"Do you know how much a badass alpha skag of that size friggin' weighs, Rhys?" Jack snapped back. “This car’s _bulletproof_ , not crushproof!

The next foot came down on the windshield, sending more cracks through it. They webbed out ominously. The skag lowered its drooling head, nipping at the car with its multiple jaws as if seeing if it were edible. For a skag, it probably was.

"I...didn't think this was how I was going to die, to be honest," Rhys said, swallowing. "I can see the tombstone now... 'Crushed by alpha skag. So not worth it.'"

“Oh chill out, kiddo! I don’t need all this commentary!” Jack fiddled with the buttons. "Ah hah! Turret's back online, baby!"

Rhys heard a whir, and then, the turret fired. The skag screeched and slipped forward, half falling into the snow bank, one foot slipping off the car so it’s shoulder planted into the hood. Jack targeted it’s exposed underbelly. A river of blood spattered across the windshield.

Rhys grew nauseated. "Oh god, that's- that’s just _disgusting_!"

"I'm gonna fill this thing with lead!" Jack poured on the rest of the turret's strength, pushing the skag completely off the vehicle and into the snow. It flailed and screeched, clawing at the car and leaving deep rends in the metal of the hood. What seemed to be an endless fountain of blood and chunks spilled across the car and snow. Rhys was doing everything in his power not to vomit on himself, shutting his eyes tight and willing the image of the shredded beast from his mind.

The skag fell silent - finally dead? Rhys heard the turret go silent. Jack chuckled. “And that’s why you don’t screw with Handsome Jack.” There was a small pause. “See? Told ya to chill out, Rhysie. It’s dead now, and so are all those idiot bandits."

Rhys didn't open his eyes. "Ugh. Right. Great.” He’d really rather be somewhere else right now. Somewhere he didn’t have to risk seeing a skag’s innards everywhere if he accidentally opened his eyes.

Rhys heard Jack moving. "Ah...taint," Jack muttered.

"What now?"

"Well...it seems the car is toast. Can’t even turn it on. The backup digistructor ain't workin'. And my Echo comms got torn up, so..."

"Lovely. So...just to be clear, what you're telling me is...we're stranded?"

"Something like that."

"Damn it, Jack, just put my cybernetics back online so I can call someone! If you’d done that in the first place, we wouldn’t have crashed!!"

"Like hell! You basically admitted you would’ve hacked the car!"

“Yeah, well, I wouldn’t have killed you!”

“You want me to just believe that?”

It was weird arguing with his eyes closed, so Rhys opened them. “Oh god.” He gagged. Somehow, the skag looked worse now. He looked at Jack instead, clearing his throat. "Look, you want us to freeze to death out here? Or are we within walking distance of wherever we're going?"

Jack looked out, jaw working. For a long moment, he just sat there.

"Fine.”

Rhys perked up. “Fine?”

“Yeah, but if you try anything funny, things are gonna get really ugly if you catch my meaning. The one thing that didn’t get torn up when we crashed was this baby." Jack tapped his gun, now jammed in the holster on his thigh.

"Right." Rhys said. “I get it.”

Jack pulled a device out of his pocket and pushed a button on it. Rhys gained his vision back in his cyber eye, felt it and his arm powering up. " _Thank_ you." Rhys started to put the call forward, but... "Shit... Uh....well..."

"What now?”

"It...appears to be...I can't get signal."

"The hell does that mean?"

"Well," Rhys said, "there could be magnetic fields interfering, solar flares, fluctuating pressure systems or maybe weather events. Perhaps there's a glitch. I can't connect-"

"Yeah, I know, smartass. What I meant was, why _can't_ you? Weather shit should be trivial to that tech."

"What makes you say that?"

Realization seemed to come over Jack. "Right. No carefully cultivated vast planetary network to back-connect with in emergencies. So that means it relies on shitty short range towers. _Right_." There was something accusing there, but Rhys ignored it.

Rhys looked out his window, deliberately not focusing on the skag or blood. Snow was starting to fall, clouds winking out the stars above as wind gusted over the snow covered land. "Looks like the weather isn't playing around.” Rhys sighed. Wow. This was just great. "Alright, so not ‘crushed by badass alpha skag,’ but rather, 'froze to death in Pandora's wastelands.' Somehow that's worse. Doesn't quite have the same drama to it." Rhys looked at Jack, and realized the man's expression had soured considerably.

"Can you hack the car with your eye?” Jack asked. “Maybe fix it?"

Rhys scanned the engine. “Yeah, that’s waaay too busted to repair on the spot."

Jack went quiet again for a bit. "The car should be fairly insulated. We just gotta wait. Once the storm passes, we'll see if we can get a signal."

Rhys felt a bit apprehensive. "You- you don't strike me as the waiting type."

"I mean, yeah, I'm gonna be bored as hell, but uh, don't exactly have a choice right now, do I?"

Awkward silence descended. Rhys realized his left arm was getting quite tired and uncomfortable, so did his best to arrange himself to where it wouldn't strain so much. He knew better than to ask to have it freed.

He accidentally looked at the skag corpse again, but it wasn’t so nauseating now, the blood and gore slowly being hidden under fresh snow.

He checked again for signal. There was none.

This was definitely going to be a very long, Pandoran-style night.

Jack began talking. About Hyperion and...something else, leg bouncing with pent up energy all the while. Rhys didn't really listen too hard, too busy trying to plan his survival should something go even more wrong. Another skag or more bandits showing up? Hopefully the turret had enough juice in it to deal with that. Jack growing bored enough he decided to strangle him for fun? Maybe Rhys could hack that pistol. Although it was possible Jack would disable his cybernetics again.

Hopefully Jack realized Rhys was their best hope of getting out of this mess and would _not_ do that. It was Jack’s fault anyway they were stranded in the middle of nowhere.

Rhys let out a huge annoyed sigh. He saw his breath cloud. "So uh...how insulated is this car, exactly?" He interjected into a brief pause in Jack's words.

Jack went even quieter, before saying, "shit. Those cracks must be deeper than they look.” Rhys saw him leaning forward to observe the imperfections in the windshield.

Rhys began to shiver. Fuck, it was getting cold pretty fast. It probably had to do with the wind, which had picked up speed outside. "Maybe we should build a snow shelter?" He wasn't the most experienced in this area, but he was pretty sure those were recommended when stranded in a blizzard.

"No, that's stupid."

"Isn't...that a survival thing?"

"Where the hell did you hear that?"

"I don't know... Probably saw it in a...a show or something."

"Nerd."

Rhys frowned. "I'm pretty sure it's-"

"Are you hearing yourself? A _snow_ shelter? A shelter made of _snow_ ? That's just gonna like, friggin' melt when it warms, and then we'll be cold _and_ wet, and that's worse. Quit believing everything you see in the movies."

"But..." Rhys didn't know how to argue that. He was sure something about Jack’s logic wasn’t right, but he had no idea what. He sighed and gave up.

"Look,” Jack went on, “it may be a little drafty, but this thing's blocking the worst of the wind, so as long as _one_ of us doesn't do anything stupid, we'll be fine."

"And what e-exactly could I do?" Rhys snapped. "I'm kind of- kind of immobilized over here in case you forgot!"

"Like I trust those cybernetics."

 _Cybernetics_. Rhys had a gnawing feeling he was forgetting something related to those. It hit him. Rhys sat up straighter. "Oh-oh man, I almost forgot!"

"Forgot what?"

"Thank god," Rhys muttered, going into his user menu. He activated _Survival Mode: W_ _armth_ . "That's sooo much better," he sighed happily as the warmers kicked on, a built-in heater basically. And the inner cybernetics would ensure his core temperature didn't drop to hypothermic levels. "I have _warmers_ in my implants," he informed a bewildered Jack. "Ooooh that’s so _niiice_." He sighed with pleasure.

Jack shifted with a suddenness that made Rhys wince. "Oh hell no!” Jack hissed, fumbling at his pocket, “that's just not right. I'm disabling those cybernetics." He pulled out the device from earlier.

"Wait!" Rhys exclaimed. "Seriously! This is our only source of heat right now. You kill it and you kill us!"

Jack's finger hovered over the button as he scowled at Rhys. “You mean that’s gonna be warm enough for both of us?”

“I mean, as- as long as we don’t waste it, it...should keep us from freezing, yes.”

"Fine. Just...how long is that gonna last?"

"At this charge...a couple of Pandoran days. Hopefully it doesn't come to that. Because uh, we don’t seem to have any food or water supplies."

“There...might be some water in the emergency kit in the trunk. Hyperion issued.” Jack paused for a minute. “Actually, I don’t know what’s in it.”

They fell into another silence, Jack staring out the window. Even with the warmers, Rhys still felt a bit chilly. He was shocked that Jack wasn't even shivering, although he did have on a lot of layers. Maybe that was paying off. 

Jack eventually lowered his usually rolled back sleeves and produced a set of gloves from his pocket to put on. Rhys realized Jack had a _lot_ of pockets in those layers. What was else might he be carrying around in them, and did he ever lose stuff because he forgot which pocket he placed them in? Rhys contained his amused snort at that thought. He leaned his head back against the headrest.

At some point, Rhys dozed off. He snapped awake when he heard sudden movement. Jack was reaching over, and Rhys started to instinctively pull away, only to see Jack unlatch his seat belt. "What're you doing?"

"The warmers ain't doing the both of us much good over there, now are they, cupcake?" Jack's voice seemed a little stiff. "Gotta...share the heat so it doesn't go to waste."

Rhys blinked as Jack reached back and released the cuffs on his wrists. Rhys pulled his hands forward, rubbing his left wrist with relief. “Oh _thank_ you-” only for Jack to grab his hands and snap the cuffs back on his wrists in front. "Oh come on!” Rhys complained. “What am I going to do in the middle of a winter desert!"

"I dunno, try to get the drop on me? Strangle me with that cyber arm? Kill me and wait out the storm?"

"Oh my god- Yeah, _whatever_. Whatever keeps you paranoid."

"Just shut up and put your arms out here." Jack tapped the middle compartment between them

Rhys frowned and did as he was asked.

Jack leaned a bit closer, frowning at Rhys’s cyber arm as if it weren’t cooperating.

Rhys started to get impatient. "What exactly is this supposed to accomplish?"

"Heat conservation."

"I..." Rhys realized what Jack was trying to do. Or what Jack seemed to think he was trying to do. "Oh...J- Jack? I...really don't know how to tell you this, but uh, sticking my arms into the middle of the car...isn't conserving heat."

"You...got a better idea besides hogging it all to yourself, cupcake?"

"Well...ideally the warmers stay close to the body for maximum heat absorption. So when there's two bodies..." Rhys coughed to emphasize his point.

Jack's eyes narrowed. "Are you serious? You think you're getting _near_ me? You can think again."

Rhys yawned. "Whatever you want, Jack," he muttered, too exhausted to argue. He settled into the new strange position as best he could, arranging himself so he could rest his head on his arms. It had been such a long day, and all he wanted was to be in his big, way-too-soft, king-sized bed with it’s golden silky Atlas sheets back home. His legs were starting to get cramps from the limited space. He should never have answered that Echo message Jack had sent.

He dozed off again.

The last thing Rhys expected was to be fully reawakened by large hands grasping his jacket and bodily hauling him into the driver's side of the car.

"What the hell!?" he yelped in alarm.

"Chill out," Jack said. “Jesus.”

Rhys was...in Jack's lap, cuffed arms against the man's chest. Any other situation and this...might have been somewhat amusing. Right now Rhys was just shocked and half-asleep, frozen stiff, trying to comprehend this. Finally, his tired brain began to realize… Jack really must've been pretty damned cold. Jack was...shivering? Rhys couldn't see it, but he could feel it. It was as if the shivers were being suppressed, tight, small, but intense waves running through Jack.

Rhys tried to balance his arms against Jack's chest. This was...pretty awkward positioning, especially for his long limbs and Jack’s size, and he didn't want to apply too much concentrated pressure against Jack’s ribs. If Jack was uncomfortable, he'd probably make Rhys equally uncomfortable. But Rhys also didn't want to move too much, lest he cause his paranoid captor to assume the worst. Even if Rhys _wanted_ to try something against Jack, he wouldn't have dared risk it when Jack was clearly at an advantage in a strangling match.

He didn't know where to look, so he studied Jack's coat. He spied a few dark stains across the fabric. Coffee? Dirt? Blood? It was hard to say.

In spite of the awkwardness, he couldn't stop himself from grinning a bit. "Told you."

"And I told you to chill out," Jack growled back. "I'm watching you, so no funny business."

“Yeah, I noticed that.” Rhys couldn't exactly relax now that he was too busy trying not to move too much. "Jack, can I, er, lean forward-"

"No."

"You're...not a little uncomfortable like this? If I moved my arms a bit-"

" _No_. You're staying right where you are, princess."

Rhys decided starting a conversation might be best. It had to be better than awkward silence while sitting in someone’s lap, right? "So uh, I’ve been wondering... H-how are you alive, exactly? This time, I mean.”

Jack raised a brow. “I’ve been wondering when you’d ask. Anyway, I don’t know the full story, honestly, just that some idiots of an interested party brought me back. I killed them all."

“You just...killed them?”

“Yeah?"

"Weren't you even a little curious why they brought you back? Or how?"

"They weren’t Hyperion, so they definitely weren’t bringing me back for any selfless reason. They wanted what every greedy scumbag horde of idiot bandits want. To make money in the most heinous ways possible. Trust me, they deserved it. Judging by what little I found, they probably thought they could control me. Thought I’d owe ‘em big time. But Handsome Jack doesn’t do debts to scumbags. After I washed my hands of those idiots, I.... Well, I set up shop and got back in contact with Hyperion. Once some things were settled, I...decided we should have a chat, so I looked into your whereabouts. That's how I found you at the shiny new Atlas facility.”

“I...wow.”

“I know, right? Crazy, but here we are.”

Rhys blinked. It was weird conversing this close. “So...what is your body anyway? Is it...cybernetic? Synthetic? Cloned? Are you the AI Jack I found, or..?”

Jack frowned, then growled a bit, seeming annoyed. "I...how the hell should I know? I remember being in your head, so I guess? But I don’t feel digital. Body feels exactly the same as before. Maybe they did clone it."

Rhys just sighed. Leave it to Jack to miss all the interesting information. “Okay, moving on. So what’s your plan? Helios - all your power - it’s all gone.”

Jack actually laughed. “You think I had all my eggs in the Helios basket? Pumpkin, I’ve got a shit ton of other resources off world. Did you forget I was like...a trillionaire? Hyperion isn't dead...not yet. I admit, I’ll miss Helios, like, giant freakin’ H in the sky that can rain death and hellfire at any second? Awesome! But now that it’s gone, I can just make something even more badass. As for my full plan, that’s what our little chat was going to be about."

“Seems we have time for that chat you keep mentioning now.”

“Nah, we gotta do it somewhere else. You’ll see. It’ll make sense later.”

“I sure hope so.”

Rhys couldn’t help but wonder if he should be more worried. It was quite possible Jack was right and Hyperion was about to become number one again. And if it gained the strength it had from before… Well, Rhys wasn’t sure his baby Atlas could withstand that. Not unless he got to the vault...

Well, he would worry about that later. Now wasn't the time.

“So,” Rhys started, “are you going to kill me if we get through this and have our little chat?”

“I’m not going to kill you, cupcake. I...actually need your help. Besides, the past is the past. Let’s just agree to leave it there.”

That was strange, considering how good Jack was at holding grudges. Rhys would have to try and figure out the change of heart later.

Maybe it was as simple as Jack needing him for something. But for what? Hopefully it wasn’t related to the new vault. At least Jack didn’t seemed to be planning on torturing him to take revenge.

Jack spoke again, “you know, Rhysie. I admit, I almost miss our little chats. I mean, being stuck in digital space sucked, but it wasn’t all bad..”

“If you say so.”

“We had a lot of fun on our little adventure.”

“You know what, Jack?” Rhys said, suddenly agitated. “You’re actually right this time. We did have a lot of fun. But guess who screwed that up? It sure as hell wasn’t me.”

Jack moved, hand reaching up. Rhys jumped, but Jack merely scratched his neck. "Jeeze. You're...pretty tense there, kiddo."

"I think that's fair...considering you uh, kidnapped me."

"Details, Rhysie. Details. I just told you I wasn't going to kill you."

"Doesn't mean I'm gonna be one hundred percent comfortable around you. Speaking of comfort...my arm's getting pretty sore. Are you sure I can't just-"

"Nope! And my answer ain’t changin’ anytime soon, sweetheart, so stop askin’."

"I...you may not have noticed, Jack, but I'm not a physical person. I mean, sure I’ve killed people, but not with my bare hands-" Rhys was trying to placate the man's paranoia. He didn't need to be strangled over this. “Even _you_ should know that! I can barely throw a punch! And I have a  _metal arm!”_

Jack grumbled. "I...suppose you have a point. I guess… Whatever. I don't gotta tell you it's not gonna be pretty if you get any ideas, now do I?"

Rhys opted to press forward without responding, closing the distance between them. Jack stiffened like a board under him. Rhys could've teased him for that, but he decided to ignore it. It had been annoying enough convincing Jack for this in the first place. He was too tired to push his luck.

It certainly felt a lot warmer already, and distributing his weight took the strain off his shoulders, so that was nice. Rhys sighed with relief, drawing in a deep breath. He was hit with an interesting aroma from Jack’s clothes - a mixture of blood, cologne, coffee, and some other scents that were lost on him. The smell was tangy and metallic, and frankly, it might have been gross if it were on someone else.

But this...this was Jack. And it suited him fine.

Rhys let himself relax against the rise and fall of Jack’s chest, feeling oddly content. He didn’t question why he was so relaxed. Too tired, he kept telling himself. Too tired.

* * *

Rhys was being shaken. He groaned, shifting a little. He just wanted to sleep for crying out loud! Was that too much to ask for?

"Rhys, wake up."

It was more the sound of the voice and the realization of who it belonged to that forced his eyes open than an actual willingness to be awake. His head was...on Jack's shoulder, his arms pinned uncomfortably between them, but keeping them quite warm. His left arm was numb from loss of circulation. Rhys hadn't just dozed off. He'd fallen _asleep_. On Handsome Jack. Wow. So he could add that to the list of his not so smartest moments.

Wait...did this also mean they were... _cuddling_? Sort of?

Rhys didn’t even _want_ to entertain _that_ thought. He willed it away.

"Rhysiieee…"

" _What?"_ he mumbled.

"You drooled on me."

"I...uh...oh. Sorry." Rhys realized his chin was feeling cold and wet, and there was a patch of wetness on Jack's coat. That was...embarrassing. It was one thing to accidentally drool on Fiona and piss her off, because that had actually been kind of funny... Until she’d punched him for it. But it was entirely different to drool on _Handsome Jack._

Handsome Jack, whom he’d fallen asleep on.

This was all so surreal.

"Whatever.” Jack sighed in a long-suffering way. “It'll dry. Anyway. It's not snowing now. See if you've got signal yet. I’m getting pretty tired of sitting here." His sentences were short and sharp and a little jarring for the ears of someone who just woke up.

Rhys wiped the wetness off his chin onto his own sleeve. "Just...gimme a sec..." Rhys leaned back a bit, trying to shake some feeling into his arm. At least the numbness had also cut off the inherent pain in the mutation. Well, it would be back. He was thankful for his glove. Who knew how much shit Jack would give him if he knew about the hand-

Rhys leaned back, and he felt something hard and large against his thigh. He assumed it was that Hyperion pistol, but...that didn’t make sense. Not with the...location.

He blinked at Jack's glaring face. If he'd been more awake, he might've had the good sense to not say anything. But he wasn't more awake, and had no good sense at the moment. And so he opened his mouth.

"Jack, you have a boner."

He...hadn’t meant for it to come out like that.

"Yeah, no shit, Genius. It happens. Handsome Jack has the libido of a _stallion_. So when he’s confined for several hours, smaller Jack gets unhappy.” Rhys winced as Jack went on, “not that, I’m saying it’s small, because it’s not- There’s like, a full nine inches there-"

Rhys had to interrupt. "Oh my god, did you really just say all of that?" He groaned, shutting his eyes with sheer secondhand embarrassment. No one could ruin a moment like Jack could. He shifted to make sure he was not....touching Jack's boner... God his life was so weird whenever Jack was around.

“Am I detecting some jealousy, Rhysie? It’s okay, you know, to be a little jealous of what Handsome Jack’s got. No one can be like me, after all."

Really, how was this man an _actual adult_? "I...no. Jealousy is...definitely not what I'm feeling right now."

"Pft, and what about you, Mr. Ill-Timed Boners? Gettin' all judgy over here like some priest."

"I...I'm not judging your boner, Jack... Wow, I really just said that. Let's just, let it go, alright?" Rhys's face was burning. He cleared his throat and quickly went into his Echo menu. "Oh hey, _yes_ , I do have signal!" He wasn't sure if he was more relieved for the actual signal or for the fact it was a good way to change the topic.

"Great. Call someone. But make sure they aren't gonna cause problems, or there's gonna be problems."

"Right. I have an idea, actually."


	4. Opportunity

Rhys took a moment to look outside now that he was mostly awake. Or tried to. As cold as the inside of the car had gotten, Rhys had to first wipe condensation from their breaths off the window to see anything. Once he did, he found himself staring. The atmosphere was clear, crystal clear, the sky blue and soft. The sun had started to rise, casting a pink glow on the distant mountains and icy cliffs, its light glittering like pearly diamonds in the snow. Pandora may for the most part be a trash planet, but some parts of it were...beautiful. Stunningly so.

"Rhysie," Jack spoke up, shifting. Rhys was acutely aware of the movement as it jostled him. "I thought you were calling someone?"

"Right." Rhys quickly refocused on his Echo. He had a few missed messages. None of them were overly concerning, just simple inquiries from Yvette and one message from the board. No one seemed shocked he’d been off the Echo for a whole night. After all, a quick weekend hookup was not all that unusual for him these days. Besides, work was supposed to leave him alone until Monday. Not that it always did.

Rhys wondered if maybe others _should_ be more worried about him if he vanished for a night. What if he’d been captured by bandits or mauled by monsters? What if Jack had been intent on killing him? He’d figure that out later.

“So who are you calling?” Jack asked with all the casualness of someone who hadn’t just sported a boner a few minutes ago. Or threatened Rhys multiple times. Or been on a high speed chase with Pandora's hostile denizens and in a car wreck immediately after. Speaking of which, Rhys was now quite stiff and sore from not just one, but two wrecks in the past day, and then falling asleep cramped up and half freezing.

Also, he needed to pee, which sucked. But that could wait. He had gotten used to holding it through long meetings, so-

That wasn’t important.

He ignored the discomfort as best he could. “Well, I got an idea.”

"Yeah?"

“I’ll just have...probably LB, bring a car digistructor. Then we can...get where we were going in the first place.”

Jack’s eyes narrowed. “Just like that, eh? Not gonna try to _escape_ or something?" He said the word "escape" in a mocking tone, as if he thought there was nothing to escape from, as if he hadn't abducted Rhys in the first place.

“For one, Jack, I gave you my word I wouldnnn't-" His words caught as his stomach twisted and he tasted acid. "Uggh, gross-" Jack's face became pinched as Rhys continued, "Ooh, sorry.” He swallowed. "Stomach trying to come back on me. It happens when I drink and then don't eat for a long time after-"

"Rhys."

"What?"

"I don't need to know this. Get back to what you were saying already about giving your word?"

Rhys coughed and started talking at Jack’s lapels instead of his face. "Ahem. Right. As- as I was saying, I promised I wouldn't bring trouble. And I won't. Even if I wanted to... Well, if you were going to kill me, I assume you would have done it by now. Besides...I’m curious what you’re planning. I have to pay attention to the competition now.”

Jack clapped his leg. Rhys blinked in surprise and looked at Jack’s face. He felt...things he didn't want to feel right now, things that were caused by the pressure of Jack’s hand. “Well," Jack said cheerfully, grinning, "someone’s all _grown up_ now! All mighty CEO Rhys watching the competition and being smart! And I remember when you were just a wittle bitty janitor-"

"Jack, please-"

"And now look at you!” Jack sighed as if nostalgic and reminiscent. “How they grow...”

"Jack, your jokes could be classified as horrible."

"Nah, that one was genius. Now get on that call already."

"I'll- I’ll just do that." Rhys started the call and waited for an answer.

The line was picked up after a few heartbeats. "Hi," said a deep, robotic voice on the other side.

Rhys almost sagged back against Jack, his relief was so great. _Finally_. “Oh, god, _LB_!” He exclaimed. “It’s so good to see you, heheh. Or hear you.”

"Are you in trouble again? You use that tone when you’re about to ask for a rescue."

"Hey don't say it like that! You haven't had to rescue me in...a month! A month now!"

"I have been counting, and since we met, I have saved your life a total of twenty-seven times, which does not include the times I have saved you from other forms of ailment or trauma-"

"LB!" Rhys said as Jack snorted on laughter. "Come on, bro, I'm stranded in the snow! I just need a digistructor, please. A car digistructor! My car is totaled! Just track me through my implants and bring one _asap_ because I have no idea where I am."

If LB had been designed with the ability to sigh, he probably would have in that moment. Or Rhys imagined so. "I will be right there. This makes twenty-eight."

"Could you please stop keeping count," Rhys groaned before the call ended.

"That was cute," Jack said derisively. "Can't believe you're still keeping that hunk of junk around. Last time I saw it, it seemed ready for the scrap pile."

Rhys rolled his eyes. "He has...a new body now." Well, shit. Rhys hadn't thought of _that_. Hopefully Jack either didn't notice - which he probably would - or he wouldn't care - which he also probably would. Whatever. Too late now. Jack would just have to deal with it. “Besides, he’s useful.”

“Useful at bailing your ass out of messes? Sure sounded like it.”

“He was exaggerating.”

“Uh, that sounded like anything but an exaggeration, princess. And robots don’t exaggerate. Besides I know how good you are at getting into trouble.”

“He doesn’t just save my ass, okay? He also...also…” Rhys’s brow furrowed as he thought as hard as he could.

“Yeah? Oh, this oughta be good.”

“He makes a good cup of coffee?” Rhys offered sheepishly. “Is the life of parties?” Okay, that was a lie, he admitted to himself. LB was the worst at parties.

“Woow, Rhysie. _Wow_.”

“Okay, you’re the one who got us into _this_ mess, so he’s saving _your_ ass too.”

“I still don’t have anywhere near the ass-saving count you do, buddy, but that’s a cute attempt to drag me into this.”

A loud whoosh had Rhys’s gaze turning outside to see a stream of snow fly up under impact with an object. He saw the figure that had presumably caused it. It stood up, a glowing red light mounted on a gold, vaguely-skeleton-shaped body. "LB's here!” Rhys said. The robot was wearing one of the latest Atlas jetpacks that’d recently gone on the market. Well, that explained how he’d arrived so quickly. “I’m getting out.”

"I’m coming with."

Jack managed to get the door open. Rhys and Jack both struggled to get out, but it turned into an ordeal for them both. Jack reached up, and Rhys raised his bound arms in an attempt to steady himself. Limbs crashed awkwardly. In the struggle, Jack somehow elbowed Rhys in the face.

“Ow! Shit!”

“Oh chill out! I barely bumped you!” Jack said. Jack’s legs were moving as he tried to wriggle out. Rhys sat up further, trying to allow room, but his back pressed against the steering wheel. The car honked. He jumped forward involuntarily at the noise, right back into Jack’s chest. Jack grunted. “Ugh. Okay! This isn’t working! New plan!!!” His expression shifted into an ornery, maniacal grin.

Rhys stilled, uncertain. “Wha-?”

Jack grabbed him by his front and all but _threw_ him off. Rhys fell into the snow face-first. The little ice crystals stung, and he cursed as he stood up, struggling to brush away the white powder clinging to him with his cuffed hands. Oh god. He'd thought the _car_ was cold? Outside was ten times worse. The wind seemed to push right through all his layers and penetrate down to the bone. How far were they from the Atlas facility? It wasn’t nearly as cold _there_. “You’re such a dick!” Rhys exclaimed, turning to Jack.

“Heh, it worked didn’t it?”

Rhys watched Jack wobble out of the car, seeming just as stiff as he was. Served Jack right. So maybe the whole throwing-Rhys-into-the-snow-face-first thing _had_ worked, but that didn’t mean he had to like it.

LB stepped forward, switching it’s red light between the two. He gave a thumbs up at Rhys. “Hello, Father.”

"Would you please stop calling me that," Rhys said, trying to puff his clothes up against the wind. He wished he had a hood of some sort.

"Yes." LB took a few seconds before saying anything else. " _Dad_ , then. It is my understanding this is a good synonym, Dad."

"That's...that's worse. A worse synonym."

"I have more synonyms pulled up. Shall I list them so you may pick a more suitable one?” Without waiting, LB began to rapid fire list them off. “Dada, daddy, daddio, pa, pop, papa, padre, parent, old man, patriarch, paterfamilias, sire, predecessor, begetter, origin, source-"

"Stop, stop!" Rhys said, trying to even process what was happening. How had LB gotten even more adept at dry humor, anyway? Maybe he'd been taking private lessons from Fiona. "Just, whatever. I don't care!"

"As you say, old man."

Rhys facepalmed with both bound hands. "I didn't even create you... Why..."

"Family is more than blood," LB said, so serious that even Rhys wasn't sure if this was more humor or not. "Or...oil." Okay, this was definitely LB messing with him.

"LB. Seriously. Stop."

Jack, meanwhile, had been stuck scrutinizing LB with narrowed eyes. Now they lit up with recognition. “Wait-wait- Is it-? Oh god, it _is_ ! It’s in my _fucking immortality suit_ , jesus-” He started laughing, doubling over, howling like he’d been told the funniest joke he’d ever heard. “You put a sentient loader AI in my endoskeleton, cupcake?! That’s just _so_ stupid!”

Rhys hadn't been expecting _that_ reaction. "I didn't put him in there. _He_ did, thank you."

Jack just laughed even harder as if Rhys had told another, even funnier joke. Well, at least it meant Jack wasn’t about to get murdery. Hopefully.

LB pointed at the howling Jack. “Should I attack?”

“Noooo, no, no!” Rhys exclaimed. “Do _not_ attack.”

"Are you under duress?”

“No, no, no,” Rhys assured. “It’s alright! Jack is _not_ going to kill me.” He cleared his throat and rubbed the back of his neck. Honestly, he still didn’t one hundred percent believe that, but he was fairly sure...

“Yeah, what he said,” Jack said as his laughter subsided, stepping forward and elbowing Rhys in the ribs.

"Oof." Rhy winced. “Would you stop acting like a child for two seconds!”

“Aww, _someone’s_ getting all _pouty_ over here. How _adorable_!”

Rhys glared at Jack’s unceasing grin before turning back to LB. "So...could you digistruct another car now, _please_?"

"Yes," the robot replied, holding up a digistructor. It’s light came on, and within moments, another car was printed from the ground up into existence. “It is done.”

"Thank you so much, LB. You’re a lifesaver.”

“I am well aware. Twenty-eight times now.”

Rhys exhaled with resignation.

LB said, “are you sure you do not want me to shoot him?”

Jack unholstered his pistol. "You're welcome to try, metal mouth. First time you asked was kinda funny, but now it isn’t so cute anymore.”

LB continued on at Rhys, ignoring Jack. “Need I remind you of what happened the last time you were alone with Jack?”

“Hey, I’ll put bullets in ya!” Jack snapped, his face falling as the first sign of annoyance peaked through. “Rhys, tell this scrap pile to get outta here already before I tear it apart out of boredom.”

Rhys sighed. “Look, LB, I gotta see what he’s up to first."

“Oh. Why didn't you say so, Dad?”

Rhys rubbed his temples, knowing passive-aggression when he saw it. “Now go tell Yvette I’m fine and I’ll be back in time for work tomorrow. Kay? And if I’m not back by then, please come looking for me, and if I’m dead, _then_ you can shoot him, okay?”

"Hey, hey," Jack said, "that bot’s looking like real good target practice right now, Rhys. Wouldn’t you agree?"

“Fine,” LB said. His voice hadn't changed at all - mostly because it physically _couldn’t_ \- but he somehow seemed more agitated. LB fired up the jetpack and took off, spraying snow all over Rhys.

Rhys frowned hard as Jack pointed and laughed at him. Of course. That was twice he was covered in snow. Why not? Rhys brushed the snow off as nonchalantly as possible and entered the passenger seat of the new vehicle. Jack climbed into the driver seat. Jack surprisingly, said nothing as he hit the gas and they were driving once again. Better yet, they finally had heat. Glorious heat. Rhys was able to turn the warmers in his implants off.

Rhys just gazed out the window, watching the frosted scenery quietly and trying not to think of how the urge to go was increasing. He would’ve just gone back there, but the cold...

He spoke up. “Where exactly are you going to take me?”

“It's a surprise! It's just one little thing I gotta show ya."

“How...long is it gonna take to get there?”

“Probably a couple more hours.”

Great. Just great.

Rhys had half a mind to turn on the radio, but when he had a mental image of fighting for control of it with Jack, Rhys knew immediately he didn't want to give Jack any ideas. What kind of music did Jack even like anyway? Country? Classic? Rock? Pop? He couldn’t even begin to guess. It was probably best left a mystery, for his own sake.

* * *

The scenery changed drastically after another hour or so of driving. Outside his window, mountains became snowy plains then eventually turned into grassy fields. How was that possible? Pandora's climate confused Rhys at the best of times. Then again, he wasn't a meteorologist or even that familiar with the lay of the land here.

Rhys glanced at Jack who hadn’t said a lot since their conversation with LB - surprisingly. Rhys felt strange, like he was stuck in a weird dream or maybe an alternate dimension. He really didn’t think he’d be in this situation again. He didn’t think he’d ever see Jack again, and that…confused him, in several ways.

He pushed those thoughts away, sighing.

Jack spoke up. “Why the long face, pumpkin? We’re almost there! I know it’s been a long drive, but the wait is almost over. You’ll soon know just what Handsome Jack is planning next! Isn’t it exciting?”

“Sure.”

“You really gotta work on your enthusiasm presentation, tiger.” Jack slowed and turned down another road, this one actually _paved_. It went through a tunnel and out the other side to reveal rocky, mossy cliffs waiting there. Rhys cast his eyes around. Where were they now? He saw old, abandoned Hyperion towers and ruins here and what looked like some sort of old military base situated at the top of a hill. He activated the tracker on his Echo with his cybernetic arm. It seemed they’d gone further west and south. Rhys had never been here before.

Before he even realized it, they were turning onto a bridge over a stunning, vast body of water. In the distance, Rhys saw… _Whoa…_ His eyes went wide, and he leaned forward. “ _Holy shit,_ ” he almost squeaked.

“I know, right? This is _Opportunity_ , baby! She’s been repurposed, but for the better. In the long run.”

The city was quite beautiful from here, it’s buildings glimmering and glittering in the sunlight. It looked quite large. “I...I thought it was destroyed by vault hunters?” Rhys whispered.

“Not quite. I mean, they defaced the hell out of it, but didn’t outright destroy it. Anyway, I took it from the idiots who...brought me back. Whatever. They’d taken it for themselves, I guess, blah blah, didn’t really get a chance to ask ‘em while I was blowing their brains outta their skulls. Buuut I did get all their sweet tech, so that's a bonus.”

The city was slightly more disheveled up close. Most of the buildings and sights had been destroyed or marred in some long-ago battle. Robot husks, glass, metal, and creature corpses lay strewn about the torn roads. Scorch marks and bullet holes were _everywhere_. Animal nests and thick vines climbed up the sides of some buildings. A group of rakks could be seen circling above a completely destroyed building. Some areas remained mostly intact, but their lack of upkeep was showing. A quick scan told Rhys the wreckage was about two years old.

“It ain’t much now,” Jack said with some obvious wistfulness, “but I’m working on getting a team in here to start cleaning all this up.”

“I kind of wanted to live here,” Rhys admitted suddenly. "Before, when I was at Hyperion. Thought'd be really cool, being apart of Handsome Jack’s famous shiny new city. Of course, that was...not feasible..." He shut his mouth as an image flashed through his mind of the charred wreckage and debris of Helios around him. On that sooty ground, firelight illuminated a poster advertising Opportunity. Rhys swallowed, could almost taste that acrid, scorching air again. He felt he might gag at the memory.

He thought he saw Jack glance sideways at him. “God, you’re such a friggin’ fanboy.”

Rhys didn’t respond. His mood began souring.

“So," Jack said, oblivious, "the first thing I did when I got my bearings after being brought back was argue for days with a bunch of Hyperion idiots off world who thought I wasn't me. I swear, when I finally get a vacation from this shit hole, I'm airlocking all of 'em. Oh wait...guess I'll have to shoot 'em. Keep forgetting I don't have airlocks anymore. _Anyway_ , I was able to _finally_ get back to my resources.”

“Resources?" Rhys asked. "For what?"

“I’m gonna use them to retake Hyperion. Gonna rebuild what was lost. Stronger and better than ever.” Jack slowed the car to a stop in front of one of the few intact buildings, shutting it off. “Here we are!”

“Hyperion’s pretty weak right now,” Rhys said as they walked into the building. “And I’d know, being CEO of Atlas and all.”

“Did I ever tell you about the time I brought Hyperion to the top after it was sabotaged by Dahl militarized forces? No? Well, this is gonna be a cakewalk compared to _that_.”

Rhys frowned. "I was _there_."

"You were?" Jack squinted at him. "You joined Hyperion pretty young, huh? Survived quite a bit, didn’t ya?"

"Yep. I-" Rhys started to add on to that, then decided against it. "A-anyway, I was definitely there when Dahl attacked."

"Well, then you know I ain't lying, cupcake."

"Guess so."

They entered a large room. Rhys looked around. There were monitors and odd equipment placed everywhere. It looked haphazardly scavenged and thrown together, as if it hadn't belonged to this room originally. Towards the back was another door, one that looked tightly secured. It had a somewhat ominous, red light above it and a sign proclaiming level four clearance was necessary to access.

Rhys gestured at it. “That- that looks locked up pretty tight. What’s behind door number one?”

“Nothing,” Jack answered, voice unusually clipped. “Don't worry about it. It doesn’t involve you.”

However, the curiosity was an itch that needed to be scratched. Rhys tried to scan it, but his Echo Eye only came up with readings for the door itself, which seemed equipped to electrocute unwanted visitors to death or even laser them to ash. He shook his head and folded his arms. Well, Jack's secret would have to wait for another day, then. It seemed too important to Jack to just let it go. “Alright alright, what’s this a-about? What’d you want to talk about?”

Jack took off his outer coat, which surprised Rhys. He hadn’t really thought it could come off. Which was a weird thought to consider in retrospect. Well, maybe he was just so used to it being on Jack that he’d never expected to see it removed. Jack seemed oddly exposed in that weird, long-tailed, white shirt and leather waistcoat underneath. Did Jack have multiples of those, or did he just wear the same ones all the time? Why didn’t that bother Rhys more?

Jack slung his coat over the back of a well-used chair at a desk. He started booting up the monitor on it. “Look, Rhys,” he said over his shoulder, “here’s how it is. I’m working on this project that’s gonna bring in a whole lotta dough for Hyperion. It's the only way they're gonna even _think_ about Pandora ventures again. Problem is, the bumfucks lost control of most our Eridium sites after my...death. Anywaaay, all I need is to secure a site and have a steady source of Eridium again. Normally, Hyperion would cover that with scouts, soldiers, and bots, yaddy-yadda, but whoops, _somebody_ destroyed Helios, and by somebody, I mean _you_ , cupcake-”

“Yeah, yeah, okay.” Rhys sighed, approaching as Jack sat down in the chair and started typing on his keyboard. “I’ve done enough business deals to know where this is going. You want me to help you take the site.” Rhys walked around the room to sit on one of the tables so he could talk more directly to Jack.

Jack looked at him. “How much you want in return, cupcake?” He asked, staring at him intensely. "Money-wise, I mean."

“Sixty percent,” Rhys said, slipping with ease into businessman mode. “Which is generous considering I’ll be doing the heavy-lifting... Well, Atlas will. I will basically be handing this to you on faith with no guaranteed pay off.”

“Fine.” Jack waved a hand. “I don’t care. Sixty percent is fine by me.”

“Before I agree… What is the project?”

“Can’t tell you. Sorry, tiger. Can’t leak anything because of company policy.”

“Come on, come on, Jack,” Rhys said with the most charming smile he could pull. “You know me well enough by now. We’re practically best friends-”

“Nuh uh, not falling for that,” Jack said before turning back to the monitor. He beckoned Rhys over. “I want this site here.” He was pointing out a location not far from Opportunity on the map. “It’s best suited location-wise for efficiency once we arrange some transports. There’s some bandits down there. May be tough customers if they’ve been affected by the eridium exposure, buuuuut, I figured it’d be a walk in the park for you and your robots up at Atlas.”

“Yeah,” Rhys said dryly. “That’s just what I was thinking. A walk in the park.”

“Isn’t that part of what helped put your new Atlas back on the market? Besides the vault campaign thing. The latest combat bots ya made? Efficient things?”

“They do cost a lot of money.”

“Don’t worry about it, champ. If this goes the way I’m expecting it to - and it definitely will - you’d be getting it back tenfold!”

It didn’t sound too bad. But something bothered Rhys. "Why exactly did I need to come to Opportunity to discuss this?"

Jack sighed and stood up. He finally unlocked the cuffs on Rhys's arms. Rhys moved his hands gratefully in response, rotating them happily. "I don't suppose you need these anymore," Jack muttered, letting the cuffs hit the floor. He then put an arm around Rhys's shoulders. Rhys blinked. He didn't know why it still somewhat surprised him how _hands-on_ Jack could be, personal space seeming lost on him. Rhys had sort of thought that was an AI Jack thing, the need to touch things to try and feel grounded - not that AI Jack _could_.

But apparently, this was just how Jack was.

"Rhysie, it's about the bigger picture here," Jack started, but that just confused Rhys more. Jack lead Rhys toward the exit door, the weight  of his arm on Rhys's shoulders not exactly kind, but not exactly threatening either, just the way Rhys expected it to feel. Jack was dangerous, but there were ways around that, ways to make his danger useful. "Ya see this?" Jack asked as they stepped outside. Jack was gesturing broadly with his other hand.

Rhys looked around, found himself trying to imagine it all as it was meant to be. That beautiful shining city from the posters. "Yeah?"

Jack’s voice was intensifying. "I needed you to _see_ , with your own two eyes, what exactly this looks like. How _real_ it is. I needed you to understand what is going to happen, so that you can make a clear choice."

"What kind of choice?" Rhys asked. "It sounds to me like you're implying more to this chat than one simple business deal."

Jack grinned wolfishly. "You're exactly right, my smart boy. What I’m trying to say is... It seemed unfair to ask for commitment without showing you how serious _I_ am about this. And I am serious, baby. Deadly friggin' serious. I'm back, and you gotta realize that what I'm really asking for..." he paused dramatically. "Waaaiit for it…” He drew in a deep breath and exclaimed, “a _partnership_ ! An alliance between our companies! How cool is that! It may not look like much now, but even you must realize where this is all going. And it's a generous offer, considering I'm ignoring the fact you _stole_ Atlas from me."

"To be fair, you weren't doing anything useful with it," Rhys replied while calculating on this new development. It could prove quite fruitful, quite fruitful indeed. He hesitated for just a moment, but it was more for show than anything. His mind was already well and truly made up. "Alright, Jack, you have yourself a deal."

“YES! _Excellent_!” Jack said, shaking Rhys's hand roughly. “Oh, you are gonna be _rolling_ in so much cash before long! Enough to fund your little vault venture _and_ make you rich and famous, eh?”

Rhys had a sudden overwhelming urgency. “Er, Jack, this is great and all, but I’ve actually been meaning to ask... Do you have a bathroom here?”

Jack tilted his head. “Oh, cupcake, we _definitely_ need to work on your enthusiasm presentation. But yeah. It’s the door on the left when you walk in.”

“Thaank you.” Rhys extricated himself and practically ran into the building.


	5. To Wait and Watch

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long. 2019 has been rough. X( Anyway, for future reference, I'm gonna update my profile on here every now and then so y'all know how I'm coming along with writing.

Rhys got ready for work a bit slower than normal, taking time over a chocolate chip pancakes and coffee-flavored ice cream breakfast. Before showering, Rhys frowned in the mirror, appraising himself. Bruises had formed in an ugly shade of purple on his torso and over one eye. He traced them, exhaling sharply at the ache he felt in response. They felt like a warning somehow, one he definitely didn't need.

He showered and dressed, gelling his hair and applying a carefully selected skin cream to his face. Rhys returned to his bedroom to dress in his Atlas best.

“You still wanting to come to work with me today, Gortys?” Rhys called through the door. He stared between two ties, settling on the red one with gold lines running down its length. He walked out of the bedroom.

“Oh yes! I would!” Gortys replied, pivoting toward him from where she sat on the couch. LB must have helped her up there.

LB looked up from the computer. "I am coming too."

Rhys planted his hands on his hips. "LB, Gortys will be fine."

"I am interested."

Gortys waved at LB. LB waved back.

Rhys sighed. It seemed only life-or-death situations could pry LB away from his self-assigned charge. Rhys was certain he hadn't seen those two apart since...well, not since the Vault of the Traveler business. Gortys still seemed oblivious to her bodyguard, bless her. Rhys supposed he couldn't blame LB, considering how much he went through to save her.

"Have a good day, sir!" Dumpy called, followed by a whir of agreement from Shiny.

With a chatting LB and Gortys in tow, Rhys made his way to his office. He ground his teeth. His arm currently ached, but he did his best to ignore it. The sound of raised voices reached his ears. He slowed, surprised. It’d been awhile since Yvette had felt the need to raise her voice at someone. He steeled himself and stepped into the room where his eyes landed upon the offender.

“Fiona! Hey, what's up?"

The two women stopped arguing. Fiona pointedly stepped back. “See?” She said, waving a hand. “He doesn’t mind!” She brightened. "Hey, Gortys, LB!"

The robots waved. "Hey!" Gortys responded.

"Looking cute as ever, Gortys."

"Thanks, you too!"

Meanwhile, Yvette exclaimed, “Rhys!” and rushed to him, grabbing his arms, inspecting him as though she thought she might find a knife sticking from his chest. “You're in one piece! What's going on with you? Why did LB say you were with Handsome Jack?"

“Uhhh, because...I was.” Rhys looked at LB. “Thanks.”

“I did tell her you were coming to work today,” the robot offered.

Gortys seemed confused. “Why is everyone mad?” She whispered.

"Father has made more bad decisions concerning Handsome Jack."

"Ooooh."

"Okay," Rhys interjected, "that's enough-"

“Jack is dead," Fiona spoke up. “Twice over. What are you talking about?”

"Well...it turns out..." Rhys rubbed his neck. "Jack...is not as dead as we thought."

“You told us the AI was gone,” Yvette said. "How is that possible?"

“I think he might have survived the Helios crash?” Rhys offered, scratching the back of his head now. “I- I don't know for sure... I don’t think even _he_ really knows… But he has a body now.”

“A _what_?” Fiona said. She was tensing up even more, eyes bright with anger. “And I suppose you're gonna tell us you had _nothing_ to do with it?”

“I didn’t!” Rhys protested. So what if he had made one or two not-so-great decisions concerning Handsome Jack before. That was a long time ago!

She pursed her lips accusingly.

Rhys glared back. “Look, I don’t know _how,_ and I don't know  _why_ , but Jack is alive and I had nothing to do with it!”

Yvette interrupted whatever Fiona was about to say. “Are you alright?” Her eyes had softened. Rhys was a bit taken aback by the sudden shift in tone.

He cleared his throat. “Uh, yeah. I’m fine, perfectly fine. Why wouldn't-”

“You’re _fine_? You look anything but fine. You have a black eye!"

"It doesn't make me look badass?" he asked with a forced pout.

"No, it doesn't... This is serious, Rhys. You were with _Handsome Jack_. He could have killed you.”

Rhys sobered himself. “Jack...didn’t want to hurt me. Besides...it’s not like I just walked into his arms or something. He sort of...abducted me.” He coughed hard.

Fiona rubbed her temples and sighed.

Yvette said, “I’m surprised you survived that. He’s not known for being forgiving.”

“He decided to make an offer to Atlas. He wants help securing an old Hyperion Eridium site."

“Eridium," Fiona echoed. "And you think it’s a good idea to just _give_ him Eridium? You’re just going to trust him? Why am I not surprised? All ready to be bff's with that monster again?"

“Look, it's not like that! I'm not just going into this blindly like before, okay?" Rhys insisted, frowning again. "I've been thinking about this a lot. I'll put the usual safeguards and such in place, gather more intel on Hyperion's goals... Besides, Jack didn't even haggle over the negotiations, which means he's desperate. And he should be. He has almost nothing but his name and an abandoned ghost town now. Atlas is on top here on Pandora. If anything goes wrong, Hyperion takes the hit, and Jack gets thrown to the skags...figuratively. He can't afford to screw me over.”

" _Yet_ ," Fiona insisted.

Yvette cut in before Rhys could argue, “We’ll discuss this more thoroughly later, Rhys - with the _board_. Right now, could you at least explain why she’s here,” she pointed at Fiona.

“Oh, right. Fiona is a...new hire.”

“For what?”

“Vault hunting,” Fiona said, tipping her hat.

“Yes,” Rhys supplied.

“Apologies," Yvette grunted, folding her arms, "that I didn’t just take the _grifter who punched me in the face and left me for dead_ at her word,”

“Yeah, sorry about that.” Fiona didn’t sound sorry. “I was in a hurry.”

Yvette pointed. “She shouldn’t even be _here_. She’ll probably try to lift something on the way out. I won’t stop the drones from riddling her with bullets in that case.”

“She’s not going to,” Rhys started, then looked at the woman in question. “Right? Fiona, are-are you going to steal anything?”

“Tempting...but no. I’m a _professional_ vault hunter now,” she winked.

A surge of pain lit up Rhys's arm, and he leaned against the desk with a grunt. "Shit..."

“What’s wrong with you?” Fiona asked, a bit of worry slipping into her voice.

“Just a...a slight stomach ache,” Rhys lied with a chuckle. "Don't worry. Probably...a bad breakfast..."

“Fine, you're off the hook for now, but I’m not done with you. See you, LB, Gortys, sorry I don't have time to stay and chat. Maybe we can catch up later."

"Understandable," LB replied. "See you later."

"Bye!" Gortys added. "It was great seeing you!"

Fiona marched to the door, quickly exiting.

Once she was gone, Yvette turned to Rhys. “I’m currently looking into some better painkillers for this thing. I have found some promising options.”

“Sounds good. On that thought, please order up a double dosage of the ones we’re using now,”

"Right." She grabbed a data pad, tapping on it until a projection floated above it. "Anyway, first on today's agenda is a meeting with R&D presenting enhanced cybernetics schematics. Dr. Grace, head scientist, is in charge of the presentation."

"Great. Looking forward to it," Rhys said as the pain subsided. He entered the office with LB and Gortys following.

“Ooooh this is _so_ cool!” Gortys said cheerfully. "And it's kinda like Jack's office! Except brighter! And with fewer Jack statues!"

His office had a large view. It wasn’t as good as Handsome Jack’s had been, since Helios gazing down on Pandora gave Jack's quite a view, but it was _something_. Rhys gazed out over a large plateau of grassy fields. It was quite pretty in the springtime. He dropped onto his chair, letting out a long sigh.

If only he could see the future. That would be very helpful right now.

* * *

After a couple of hours and several dozens of questions, Gortys had finally left with LB. The meeting with R&D came soon after.

Rhys bounced his leg. He could safely say this was the worst part of being CEO, the meetings. So many meetings. They were necessary, but often dull. Sometimes Rhys would find himself zoning out. This was what the Echo Eye was good for, recording and sorting out the important bits. At least this one was growing less annoying with each moment. The concept was actually promising, the presentation done well.

Rhys spoke at the end, "Please tell me, what exactly do these cybernetics offer that Hyperion's don't."

"Well," the guy said, composing himself, "Quite simply put, we're offering all there is to offer. Cost efficiency, ambition, aesthetic, utility, improvements, far more than what Hyperion has. A full nervous system attachment, say. Spine, limbs, brain. We can improve _anything_ , not just the data-mining functions of the Hyperion implants, or the military-focused ones of the old Dahl ones- which, I might say, were very faulty, sir, and usually caused their owners significant problems years, sometimes decades after receiving them..." He paused and then went on. "With these, we can implant all the way from your brain to your toes if you want. Implants can improve left or right brained capacities. We can improve motor functionality by more than three hundred percent. We can also give the same functionalities of a cybernetic part to any limb or organ without removing the corresponding body part first. No more amputations, eye replacements, heart replacements, etcetera. Unless of course, it is already necessary, such as in cases in which the part in question was damaged prior to the operation. Because of this, costs of cybernetic implants will decline by almost sixty percent."

Okay, so now they were getting to the heart of it. And it was proving to be quite interesting. "What about accessibility? Affordability will make them sell better, but what terms are you thinking of personally?"

"Terms? If you're referring to the fine print on Hyperion implants, sir, I suggest we simplify them. People are less likely to purchase cybernetics if they know their body will be claimed by the company upon death."

Rhys nodded with thought. "How did you come up with this?"

"Sir?"

"These implants. Great in theory, but will they actually work in reality? Hyperion was trying to wire implants into the nervous system and brain for years with only minimal success."

"I uh...well..." he cleared his throat. "I came from Helios, actually, sir. I was head of the lead cybernetics team. We...brought a lot of their data from Helios. After it crashed, I spent a significant portion of time mining as much info as I could from the broken database. We- er, _they_ \- were close to new breakthroughs in cybernetics. We simply perfected what they were going to do."

"Oooh, stealing from the competition. I like that," Rhys said, feeling suddenly smug. "What was your name again?"

The guy smiled at that, "Dr. Grace, sir. William Grace."

"Right. Well, Dr. Grace, this seems very promising. R&D will have full funding to complete it."

Dr. Grace smiled widely. "Thank you, sir! You won't regret this!"

As the meeting ended, Dr. Grace seemed to be quite pleased. He approached Rhys, practically vibrating, eyes bright. "I just want to say, sir, I am a huge fan!"

"O-oh," Rhys said, blinking. "Really?" 

The man made a punching motion in the air. "The way you brought Hyperion to their knees and stopped at nothing to do it. Destroying Jack, crashing Helios! Then without missing a beat, rising Atlas from the grave like a phoenix! Incredibly well done! There should be an Echonet series based on it or something! So cool!"

"Oh- uh, thanks?" Rhys said, rubbing his neck. He was still taken off guard when this sort of thing happened, even if he should be used to it by now.

"Uh, sorry if- that was inappropriate." Dr. Grace said, and cleared his throat. "Sir."

"No, no, it's fine," Rhys said, catching himself and offering a hand to shake. Dr. Grace obliged happily before leaving.

Rhys noticed Yvette approaching "So, how does it feel to be on the other side of the fanclub for once?"

"To be honest...I'm not sure," Rhys replied. "Which is...weird?"

She raised an eyebrow. "Really? I figured you would love it."

"I mean...it's nice to have respect, and at first it was...wow, so cool... But it gets kind of hard to tell who genuinely likes me and who's just kissing my ass for their own benefit."

"Touché."

"Though that guy was probably one of the former... So, anyway, what's up?"

"You have a call holding from Dr. Tannis."

"Oh, thanks," Rhys said **.** "I'll get it."

* * *

Rhys lay sleepless in his bed, staring at the ceiling. He wasn't tired tonight, in spite of the long day. Well, scratch that, he _was_ tired, but sleepy, he definitely was not. He had so many mixed thoughts and feelings floating around, and nothing calmed them down. He rolled over restlessly, punching his pillow lightly.

_Jack… What do you want? What do you hope to gain? What are your plans?_

Rhys had no answer for this problem. No solution that seemed possible, or doable. Taking Jack out wasn't a feasible possibility at the moment, but leaving Jack to return to his former machinations wasn't either. Honestly, it felt like the only course of action was to wait and watch how this was all played out.

The thought didn't give him much comfort.

Rhys went into his memory banks and searched through them for something to play. Usually he’d go to one of the earlier ones, and rewatch all the trouble he, Vaughn, and Yvette used to get up to on Helios. They were great for cheering up. But tonight, he wasn’t much in the mood for that. Instead, he went into some of his more recent memories. He took a deep breath and selected one.

_The caravan rattled along toward their destination. Most of the people in the cabin were already crashed on the couch or the floor. Only Athena - who was currently driving - remained awake. Rhys was sitting in the back on the floor, in one of those moods where sleep was futile. He’d offered to drive, but Athena had waved him off with dismissive words. _With a sigh, he rested his chin on his knees, utterly bored. There was a storm outside the caravan, mostly snow and wind, but it added to the background noise of the rattling vehicle.__

_“Hey, tiger!”_

_Rhys almost jumped but caught himself. He wasn’t used to Jack popping out of nowhere, yet, but he at least was better at catching himself before reacting. Rhys glanced at him. The AI had manifested himself to look like he was sitting next to Rhys. “So what's up with my new favorite dork?"_ _he asked jovially. "_ _See you’re not sleeping like everyone else.” Jack had been in such a good mood since he’d murdered a bunch of Vallory's thugs at the Atlas facility._

_“Not tired,” Rhys said quietly._

_“Ahhh, it has been an exciting day, huh kid- er, cupcake?”_

_“Why are you here right now?”_

_“What, I need a specific reason to hang out with my meat sack host? I’m bored,” he whined. Rhys_ _sometimes wondered if Jack even considered his phrasing, or if he just spewed the first bullshit that sprouted into his brain. He’d never imagined Jack would be so...childish at times._ _"Got tired of looking at your stupid memories anyway. Boooring."_

_Rhys felt his face go red. Which memories did Jack watch? He didn't want to know. Hopefully Jack had found one dumb one and decided that was enough. Rhys ran a hand through his hair. “Er- it’s just the last time you appeared, you seemed to have a specific thing you wanted to talk about. And the time before that- and-”_

_“Okay, okay I get what your're saying, but honestly, I’m really just boooorrred. God, I hate road trips.”_

_“Well that makes two of us,” Rhys snorted. “I’m so stiff, and this damn car is so crowded.”_

_“Yeah I just wanna...I don't know, blow up some bandits or....strangle an underling. Or have hot sex with my badass girlfriend."_

_Rhys frowned. “Well,_ I _just want to be back on Helios, chilling in my bed with a bowl of sugary cereal and watching videos on the Echonet."_

_“God, you sound, like, super single, do you know that, cupcake? And I'm not talking like the you're in between relationships kinda way, I'm talking like in the forever alone kinda way."_

_"Hey! What do you know?"_

_"That your last girlfriend dumped you because you wanted her to peg you."_

_Rhys went red. "Jack, stop looking at my_ memories _!" He huffed then added in a mutter, face burning, "and there was more to it than that. She liked that one R &D guy better. All 'cause he liked feeding cute, helpless animals to the skags and filming it for the Echonet hits!"_

_Jack shrugged. "All I'm trying to say is- You’ll get back to your boring forever alone cereal, Rhysie, I promise!" Rhys squinted at him. “Just gotta find the vault thing first!”_

_Rhys hesitated, wanting to say something, but he wasn't sure he_ really _wanted to._

_“What is it, tiger? You look like the cogs are turning up there.”_

_“I just...can’t get over how strange all this is. I went to a vault key deal and walked away with you.”_

_“All in all, a better deal,” Jack preened. "I mean, are vault keys drop-dead gorgeous and super smart and funny? Didn't think so."_

_Rhys didn’t grace that with an affirmation. Vallory’s goons were hunting them now and he was stuck in this chilly caravan with a bunch of people he’d only met this morning. He wasn't sure this was the better deal. He should be sitting on a mountain of cash right now in Henderson's former office. Still, this had been interesting, he supposed. Maybe "interesting" wasn't the correct word for it, though. Probably "absolutely appalling and terrifying" was.  
_

_Jack’s voice dropped. “Bet Helios has gone into the shitter without me to whip those lame-Os into shape.”_

_“Oh my god, yes,” Rhys said. “Stock rates dropped. Productivity went down. So much profit loss occurred. But that wasn’t even the worst of it. There was a shit ton of infighting in the power vacuum that followed. A_ loooott _of people died. The costs of rehiring took their toll. Like, my position was unstable before, but when Vasquez yanked the promotion out from under me, I knew it was only a matter of time before I was out an airlock. I guess I’m lucky he didn’t vent me into space right behind Henderson.”_

_“He didn’t see you as a threat,” Jack said, “boyhooho we proved his stupid ass wrong. Bet you wish you’d been the one to pull the trigger on that shotgun instead of that evil Val-whatsit lady.”_

_“Kind of, yeah,” Rhys admitted._

_“Hey, don’t be ashamed of it. Wallethead got exactly what he deserved. Now if it were me, I would’ve choked him to death the minute his greasy ass betrayed me.”_

_“Don’t-don’t you mean strangle?”_

_“Nah, I would’ve taken that stupid tie and stuffed it down his stupid throat.”_

_Rhys glanced up to ensure everyone was still asleep and Athena was occupied with driving. She’d already caught him talking to "no one” once. He didn’t need it happening again._

_“I’m serious, Rhys,” Jack said, tone evening out. He did sound quite serious all of a sudden. “If you’re on my team- loyal to me, and I can see you are - I’ll always take care of you. Uh, not...in a weird way...just...in a teamwork kinda way.”_

_Rhys was taken aback by how serious he sounded. “I uh...I appreciate that, Jack.”_

_“Try to get some sleep, kid. I don’t need you walking off a cliff later from exhaustion.”_

_Jack made finger guns just like last time before vanishing._

_Rhys stood up and walked to the front of the caravan. "A-Athena?"_

_"Yes?"_

_"You knew...Jack, right, from before."_

_She glanced at him from the corners of her eyes. "Yes."_

_"Did you...did he ever betray you?" Rhys asked carefully. He knew Jack was probably watching this exchange, but he couldn't help himself._

_Athena shot him another sideways glance. "That's an odd question. Why do you ask?"_

_"I guess...I just want to know more about him. I haven't gotten to talk to a lot of people who- who worked with him directly..."_

_"You'd do well to find a better obsession, Hyperion. I know something about wanting to be blindly loyal to those you work for. It'll bite you in the ass. Even if he's already gone... You'll have to find your own strength one day."_

_"But...you didn't really answer...um..." Rhys trailed off, twiddling his fingers together._

_"Jack never betrayed me personally," Athena finally said, "maybe he never had a reason to. Or maybe I was too valuable. Or maybe my actions spoke louder than my words, and he sensed my loyalty to the mission first and foremost. He always cared more about results than the people who worked for those results."_

_Jack blinked into view, scowling. "For the record, I don't betray people, okay? People betray me, and then they get a bullet in their face. Not sure where people get off saying I betray people all the time like some kinda Echo series villain." The hologram vanished again._

_Right, so Jack was definitely watching. Rhys sighed and nodded. "Thanks," he told the assassin and retreated back to the back of the caravan, mulling his thoughts over._

Rhys found himself examining the memory, trying to fill in the gaps. Not memory gaps - the memory was perfectly preserved by his Echo Eye. He just didn’t understand. Jack had sounded so genuine then. He had examined many of these memories, but the hint of impending betrayal couldn’t be found before. Would Rhys see it coming if it was to happen again?

No, he told himself. He wouldn't. That's why he was going to be more careful this time. That's why, he wouldn't let his guard down again. He wouldn't let himself fall for Jack's empty words and too-good-to-be-true promises.

Never again.


	6. Just Like the Good Ole Days

It was a couple weeks later that Rhys took the initiative to contact Jack first. Not that Jack hadn't been calling _every day_ , sometimes more than once, since their deal. That man was definitely persistent, Rhys would give him that. Rhys was honestly amazed at himself. Here he was, strangely not  _as_ annoyed _as he really should be_. Wasn't all that calling...harassment or something?

“Heya, Rhysie-cup, how’s it going?” came Jack’s voice. It sounded...smug, like he'd just won a bet.

Rhys leaned his elbows against his desk. "What's got you sounding like a skag with a fresh kill?"

"Oh, nothing." Jack chuckled. "Just the fact that _you're_ calling _me_ , which must mean you have news for me, baby. I just love getting news! Unless it's bad news, but something tells me it ain't that."

Rhys still wasn’t sure how he felt about allowing Jack to speak over the private link he kept in his Echo Eye. It was too much like when the man had been in his head, but he didn’t have a lot of choice. The fewer people who knew Jack was alive again the better. And Rhys was nowhere near ready to go public with this...deal. _Yet_.

"Well, come on, pumpkin, don't keep me waiiiting."

Rhys drew up a document on his computer. "Just before calling, I received confirmation the bandits have been....removed from your Eridium site, Jack. Atlas is holding it now."

“Excellent! You know what? _You_ \- you're doing pretty well for yourself, kiddo!" Rhys hadn't heard Jack this happy since...well, since before...yeah. "This is gonna to be _so_ great for m-er,  _us_. And by great, I mean it's a  _money-maker_.”

“And so you keep saying," Rhys said, skimming the document to look at the costs, "but I'll wait for the results of this...project before getting too excited. Gaining that site expended resources, and it won’t be long before people realize what’s going on. Atlas and Hyperion are _supposed_ to be enemies-”

“Pssh, of course, kitten. Also I know you're new to being CEO and all, but you really should loosen up a bit. There's always gonna be rumors, but that's not a bad thing! Rumors make you popular, exciting, eh? And you know what they say? There's no such thing as bad publicity! Take it from me-"

"Who? The _former_ CEO of Hyperion?" Rhys closed the document.

"That's just a matter of time, cupcake," Jack chuckled, but there was a heavy determination in his tone. "And it's not like I was fired or airlocked or something. Friggin’ Vault Hunters. Anyway..." Rhys scrolled through some stats as he waited for Jack to continue, "...so I've been thinking...ya know, just, turning the ole cogs upstairs..."

"Yes, what now? More Eridium?" Rhys typed on his keyboard, eyes still glued to the holoscreen. "Not unless you're ready to divulge what your project is."

"Aww, cheer up, Rhysie, wouldja? You're quite moody for a man who has piles of money with his name on it just waiting for him in the future. And no, this isn't about Eridium, actually."

"Oh?" That was a surprise.

"I was thinking you should come visit."

Rhys's mind blanked out, hands freezing on the keyboard. "Visit?" He echoed.

"Yeah! Come see what ole Jack's been doing down here in Opportunity. I mean, you saw a bit last time, but I’ve made some upgrades since then, and _finally_ got some resources and money from Hyperion - so, it’s not gonna be a ghost town for much longer. Already got some loaders and constructors cleaning up, and I talked the board idiots into sending some employees again. Pretty sweet, huh? Almost feels like I can make something from this friggin' mess.”

“I dunno, Jack,” Rhys said automatically, reverting to neutral as he tried to process what Jack was asking. What was the man's angle here? Before, Jack had dragged Rhys to Opportunity to make a deal. But Rhys felt like there was more to it this time. _What_ , he couldn't begin to guess. Jack wouldn't do something like this without reason, especially since it seemed he'd given it some thought. Rhys pulled up his mail and scrolled his messages. “I’m pretty busy.”

“Come onnn! You can't be _that_ busy, it's Friday- the weekend!"

Rhys sighed. He needed to keep more distance between himself and this new thorn in his side. Hopping down to Opportunity didn’t seem like such a great idea. "Jack, I don't think-" The sound of voices reached him from beyond the Echo comms. There was some sort of activity going on outside his office. “Actually, Jack, I’m gonna have to call you back. There’s something I need to attend to.”

“Hold on, cupcake-”

Jack wasn’t going to be happy to have Rhys hang up like that, but it was just in time. The doors to his office opened.

“Vaughn!" Rhys exclaimed. He hadn't felt this genuinely happy in quite some time. Months at least. "C'mere ole pal!!” He leapt up and walked around the desk, arms open for a hug.

Vaughn stepped back, frowning. "Rhys," he said. "You look...different, somehow."

Rhys paused, taken aback. “Erm _what?_ What’s- what's wrong?” He slowly lowered his arms, scratching the back of his head.

“What’s _wrong_? That’s all you’re going to say?” Vaughn seemed to burst now that he had the chance. “Look, Rhys, it’s been _months!_ ” He threw up his hands. “No word, no contact, nothing! No, ‘hey buddy, how’s it going lately? Haven’t been murderfied by bandits yet? Oh that’s cool! How’s it going with that weird Helios cult anyway!?’ no asking if you want to have a movie night, get drunk, get pizza or ice cream or... _something_. And I had to hear from Fiona about this Jack-coming-back-to-life business. Again. Look, I-I thought we were bros!”

“We are!” Rhys insisted. “I’m really sorry, man...it’s been really hellish lately. Running Atlas, this Jack thing... I offered for you to come work here, but you declined, so...” He shrugged and looked away. “There hasn’t been a good time to just hang out or chat or... Sorry."

“Whatever, I’ll get over it.” Vaughn seemed to deflate. He never was one to hold onto his anger very long. "If you're still offering that hug...?"

Rhys met Vaughn's gaze and sighed with relief. "Of course! I'm-I'm always offering hugs. Well, to some people, anyway. And you're one of them."

They hugged, Rhys glad to his other best friend back. Even if it was probably just temporarily.

“I can see you’ve been busy," Vaughn commented when he stepped back.

“Yeah... Sooo...does that mean you’re _not_ going to rail on me about Jack?”

“Rail? Nah, that's Fiona's job," Vaughn said. “I mean, _does_ it seem like a bad idea to me? Yes, yes it does. He did try to kill you last time. But am I going to even _try_ to convince you it's a bad idea? I'm not even bothering, bro. I know you too well. And I think Yvette does too."

Rhys let out a loud exhale and leaned back on his desk, palms planted on it. “Look...what do you expect me to do? I tried to destroy him before, and that obviously didn’t work. My best bet is to just...carefully see where this goes. It’s not like I’m going to put my life in his hands again. I'm not planning to let my guard down. It’s just business.”

“Maybe you should just...cut off contact or something?”

“Noooo... I’m kinda in the middle of a business deal with him. That would _not_ be wise.”

“Look, Rhys." Vaughn paced back and forth a couple times. "Fiona just wants to keep you from getting yourself killed. I think. And I do to of course.”

Rhys folded his arms. “Look, I- I handle dangerous and unstable people all the time in this business, even moreso now than before. I’m not just some low level code-monkey anymore, okay? I can _handle_ it.”

Vaughn halted and rolled his shoulders. He smiled. "Well, I guess that's good enough for me. Like I said, not gonna bother you over it."

" _Thank you_ ," Rhys said. It was nice to know there wasn't going to be more arguing over Jack. At least with Vaughn. “You know what? How ‘bout a fun night tonight, bro? It's Friday. Let’s get wasted! We’ll make Yvette come along too!”

“I was actually hoping you’d say that!” Vaughn exclaimed, eyes brightening.

Yvette walked in just then. “Make me come along where?”

“To Rhys’s." Vaughn replied. "To get wasted, maybe watch a movie, all of us falling asleep cuddling..."

Yvette paused for a moment, then smiled. “Okay, I'm in, but one of you is buying the drinks. And it’d better be something good. None of the Pandoran black moonshine shit or cheap rakkahol.”

Rhys grinned. “Beggars can’t be choosers, Yvette.”

“I’m not begging. I’m simply taking advantage of your _generous_ nature to put in a request.” She grinned back.

“Seems like a lot of people do,” Rhys replied with a playful eyeroll. “And don’t worry. I’ve got port from the Edens that survived the Helios crash. We'll break it out - the good stuff.”

“Perfect. Otherwise I might've had to sit this one out.”

Vaughn laughed then said, "alright, come on, where's the group hug at?"

With more chuckling, Rhys and Yvette obliged, practically crushing Vaughn between them to the best of their ability. They held on for awhile, and Rhys felt like he was gaining some years of his life back quite suddenly. Sometimes it was easy to forget how much Rhys missed this. He'd been so busy... It was so nice to just be in the same room with his best friends again.

The hug ended after a few moments.

"Hey, bro," Rhys said, raising a fist.

"Bro," Vaughn replied, pressing his fist to Rhys's. "Bro?" He asked Yvette.

She stared at his fist for a few moments...then obliged.

"Oh look, _Rhys_! I got her to do it. I got her to do the bro fist!"

" _Yvette_ ," Rhys said teasingly.

"What?" She cleared her throat, pulling off her glasses and wiping them. "It's been a...long while. I'm feeling...an emotion. Or three."

Vaughn whispered, "Shhh don't tell anybody,"

Rhys chuckled. "Cross my heart and hope to die."

Yvette cleared her throat again and spoke directly to Rhys. “Oh, before I forget, I have something you might like.” She reached into her pocket and pulled out a vial. It was filled with little capsules coded with bright colors. “I managed to procure something that might help with the pain. The best painkillers money can buy that are actually safe to use. I put it on the Atlas budget. They’re expensive, but...hopefully worth it." She handed the vial to Rhys.

“Where did- did you get these?” Rhys asked, checking the bottle and slowly turning it in his grasp to examine the contents.

“They came all the way from Eden-7. It was a hard bargain, but I got a good bulk deal.”

“That was...fast.”

“Yeah, well, it couldn’t wait.”

Vaughn spoke up. “Uh, Rhys, why do you need painkillers?”

Rhys realized he had yet to share that detail. Well, it was now or never. He raised his left hand and pulled the glove off.

“Holy crap!” Vaughn exclaimed, eyes wide.

“Yep,” Rhys said, flexing the thick gray layer on his hand. He rolled up his sleeve while he was at it to show the lines traveling up his elbow. “Courtesy of that stupid vault.”

“The Vault of the Traveler did _that_? I knew you were out for awhile but... Freaky! What is it?”

“No idea, but-uh, Dr. Tannis, the Eridian specialist I hired? Seems to think it’s an Eridian augmentation. One specifically that allows me to open another vault.”

“Whoa...so the vault Atlas is after….”

“Yep…”

“But why...why does it cause you pain?”

“It’s meant for Eridian physiology, not human. Or at least, that’s what Dr. Tannis _‘hypothesized’_. She suggests I should be thankful it didn’t outright kill me or manifest in a worse way.”

“Damn, bro.”

Yvette cleared her throat to cut in. “Anyway, pay attention because I don’t want to repeat myself. You can only take one pill every four hours. That's one dose. Do not exceed six doses in twenty-four hours. Unfortunately, the effects are not said to last as long as one would want - two to three hours approximately...but at least it’s better than nothing.”

Rhys stared at her. “Could you repeat that?”

“Oh my go-”

Rhys chuckled.

"What-" Her expression showed realization next. "Prick."

“Ah, hah, the look on your face! Nah, I got it. Don’t worry. I’ll be fine. Can’t wait to try these.”

“Would you prefer _I_ keep an eye on them?” Yvette asked. "Maybe I shouldn't even ask-"

“Nah, I got it.” Rhys said as he tucked the vial into his pocket.

“Be careful. They cost a lot.”

“You already said that.”

“Just making sure you heard.”

* * *

Several games were played, a movie watched, and enough pizza, ice cream and alcohol consumed to reduce everything to a pleasant hum in Rhys’s mind and make him comfortably full. Yvette was passed out on the floor, snoring loudly. She’d fallen asleep part of the way through the movie. Rhys had collapsed on the large couch in the living room, Vaughn lying partially on his chest. Vaughn groaned, “the room won’t stoppp spinning, oh my goood.”

“I know, man,” Rhys said with a sigh.

“I’m glad, bro, so glad.”

“Me too, bro.”

“Bro.”

Gortys's voice whispered from nearby. “Why do they keep saying that word?”

“It seems inbedded in their circuitry,” LB responded. “Whereby on visual or physical contact, they must use the word 'bro' at least twenty times.”

“Oooh.”

Rhys snorted and threw a pizza sauce-stained paper plate at the former loader. Unfortunately, he didn’t account for the plate’s lack of aerodynamics, and it floated off to the side. “Hey, shut up, man. Filling her head with nonsense.”

“It is perfect sense.”

“Oh really? Well- You-you're just jealous I won’t call you _son_. Hah.”

"Unlikely," the former loader replied, picking Gortys up and putting her on the table nearby. He then took a seat on the floor.

Rhys was actually grateful for this. It was much better than hitting the club. One night stands lacked a certain...necessary emotional aspect to them - the feel of trust, the feel of letting your guard down. Rhys honestly hadn't really been planning on it this weekend, hadn't been in the mood. And as a nice bonus for tonight, his arm wasn’t hurting for once.

Vaughn spoke up, “it’s been so long since we’ve done anything like this. It’s almost like back on Helios-mmph,” he burped. “ _S’cuse me.”_

“Ah, the good ole days,” Rhys sighed. “Hey, remember that time we put that overpowered laxative in Vasquez’s coffee? Oh god he was perpetually stuck in the restroom for like, two days. He had to call in to work anyway, and Henderson was pissed.”

Vaughn laughed. “O.M.G. yeah, and he had no clue why. And remember that time that Nakayama guy pushed you down the stairs because he hated your guts after you got the high score on the annual Handsome Jack trivia quiz? The fall broke your arm, so we put ten alarm clocks in the walls of his room that week to go off overnight at various times. And Yvette actually helped us.”

Rhys laughed. “Yeah! Oooh my god, that dude was the _worst_. What a sore loser. It was just a stupid quiz.”

“Oh," Vaughn laughed, recalling something else "-and that time that one dude threw himself out an airlock because you beat him at the grand finger guns tournament.”

“Okay, yeah, that one was pretty funny actually.”

They lay quietly for awhile with nothing but the sounds of LB and Gortys discussing the movie and the whir of the electronics in the room.

“So… The arm...is it really bad?”

Rhys glanced down where Vaughn was staring at his mutated hand visible on his chest from the rolled up sleeve. “It sucks." Rhys said. “But it could be worse. It hasn’t spread or anything and it’s manageable. I think I just gotta manage the pain until the Vault’s open. That should help. And we're looking into other ways to deal with it in the meantime.”

“Oh, that makes sense... I think?”

“It does. You’re just drunk, bro.”

“So’re you, bro,” Vaughn giggled, and they both started laughing.

There was another lazy pause.

Until Vaughn broke it with. "Can I...ask you something, bro?”

“What is it, bro?”

“Tell me the truth... Are you glad Jack’s back?”

“Huh?” Rhys asked, blinking at the ceiling. “What does that mean? Why would I be _glad_?”

“I...don’t know, bro, you just...were so depressed when we last talked at the base camp. Like, spacing off every twenty minutes with this miserable look on your face. And now...well, you just seem a lot happier now.”

Rhys spluttered out some laughter. Just how much reaching did it take to make a connection like that? He wondered. “Pfffft, what? Now the alcohol really has gone to your head, bro! Jack had _nothing_ to do with any of that. It was...a rough time then, okay? I didn’t know what I was doing and death seemed imminent, but now… Now, things are looking better for Atlas, for myself. And I have my friends around. So yeah, pretty happy.”

“Yeaah, surrre. Because Rhys didn’t care one bit his great hero - the one whom he kept all sorts of merch of in his office and won trivia contests of and kept his spit in a vial that one time - betrayed him!”

“Come onnn, _bro_!” Rhys said, face burning. “That was...a long time ago. I- I don’t care about that anymore. I was...too much of a Hyperion boy. Company man.”

“Uh huh. Whatever you say, bro.”

“Ugh,” Yvette’s voice was heard. Apparently, they'd woken her up. “Would you just shut up and admit you’re in love with him already, Rhys? Why exactly do you pretend like you don't?”

Rhys’s felt the alcoholic flush in his face deepen. “I- whaaat are you talking about? Why would- That’s _absurd-_ ”

Yvette sat up, glasses missing and hair a wild mess on her head. “Don't think I forgot about that truth or dare game when you were first working at Helios where you told me you had a crush on that man.”

“I was drunk! Like way more than now! And a lot younger! And I was also _new_ to Hyperion! Like I said, _long_ time ago." Rhys narrowed his eyes. His voice dropped. "And even if that were true... Meeting someone like Jack in reality has a way of...disillusioning a person.”

"Uh huh, suurrre, fanboy. You seem...very _disillusioned_."

Vaughn made an aborted shrugging motion. “Hate to say it, but Yvette's right, bro."

“Hey, LB,” Rhys called. The robot turned it's red light on him. “Back me up here! Tell them I do _not_ have a crush on the crazy asshole that tried to vent me into space! That'd be ridiculous.”

“No. Yvette’s logic is sound." Yvette made a sound of agreement as LB continued. "Even I have concluded this much. And all I have are algorithms to go on. Shall I pull up examples of similar behaviors and how they relate to 'human crushes' on the Ec-”

“Alright, you know what, we are no longer friends. None of us. I disown your…all of your friendships.”

“Aww, come on, Rhys,” Vaughn said. “Don't get like that!"

But Yvette just laughed. “Okay, fanboy, whatever you say,”

“I’ll back you, Rhys!” Gortys said, throwing her arms up.

“Oh, look," Rhys said, "Gortys is my only friend now. The only one who believes in me! How's it feel to not be my friend anymore?”

“Yep!" the smaller robot said.

"I feel fine," Yvette said. 

Gortys spoke up, "What am I backing you on again, Rhys?”

“Doesn’t matter, friends have each other’s backs.”

“Okay! Question, how do I _have_ your back? Obviously it’s on you, and taking it off seems painful...and fatal.”

“No just...support me, please. Emotionally.”

“Okey-dokey! No problemo!”

"That seems unwise," LB said.

Yvette crawled onto the couch

“Yes, Yvette, join the cuddle puddle,” Vaughn said, which provoked a laugh from all of them. She flumped down, making Rhys grunt, and he threw an arm around her.

“I’m drunk,” she whispered.

“We all are.”

Vaughn said, “We should get together more often.”

“Yeah, we should...”

* * *

Rhys woke up groaning, head and arm throbbing, a loud chiming in his ears. Bright Pandoran sunlight filtered in through the gold Atlassian curtains. Rhys squinted, pulling up his arm - and subsequently bumping someone - to rub his eyes. He focused, taking in the situation and his lack of personal space. Vaughn was using his chest as a pillow, passed out. Yvette had her calves on his stomach, the rest of her sprawled across the bed to take up a surprising amount of space. 

Rhys winced. “Ugh…”

The chiming kept coming. Even Vaughn was beginning to stir.

Rhys stretched toward the Echo communicator on the nightstand, which seemed like far too much effort. He wiggled, disturbing his friends. Yvette complained sleepily, shifting slightly, while Vaughn just groaned and rolled over, away from Rhys. Rhys finally snagged his Echo and activated it, holding the display to his face. He had all of two seconds to register an unhappy face in the screen before-

“What the _hell,_ kiddo?" Jack said, "First you hang up on me and then you ignore me?!” Jack’s voice was like a blow to the head. Rhys winced, hungover as hell and not needing this.

“Could you quiet down a little?" Rhys whined. "Oooh my- My heeeaaad."

Jack seemed to do a double take. “Heh. You look like shit, princess. You been partying? I thought we had business to take care of. What happened to _'I'm pretty busy, Jack'_?” he asked, imitating Rhy's voice. But Jack didn't sound angry. In fact, he seemed amused.

_Oh god._

He realized he was a fucking mess. And Jack was seeing him like this, without his carefully styled and professional look in place. Shit, fuck, that wasn't good. He couldn't afford to show any weakness around Jack, even if that weakness was dumb bedhead. Rhys reached up and tried to comb his hair back with his left hand, but it was tangled and he knew it would require the comb. All he managed was getting his fingers caught in his own hair, as if this wasn't embarrassing enough.

Jack laughed at this, because of course he would. “Anyway, I’ve been trying to call you all night!”

Rhys, cheeks burning with embarrassment, rubbed his temples, noting the fifteen missed calls in his notifications. “Yeah, Jack, that’s when people sleep.” He dropped the communicator and put his face in his palms, trying to quell his discomfort. His private comms currently displayed even more missed calls. About two dozen. What the hell was Jack's problem anyway? Didn't he ever sleep?

“Pffft, sleep's for the weak.”

Apparently not.

Yvette chortled nearby, but didn’t say anything. Rhys pulled his face out of his hands and looked at her. She grinned. He couldn't place why she had a surprisingly smug look on her face this early in the morning. She didn't look much better off.

“What was that?” Jack asked. “You with someone there?”

Rhys grabbed the communicator again. “Uh yeah, actually- My friends...”

Jack’s eyebrows shot up, mouth going to an 'O' shape. “Damn, _Rhysie_ , you’ve been getting _around._ ”

Rhys felt his face burn even more. “No- Jack, they’re- _my friends_ , they’re not...not...”

“What, you mean like, the no benefits kinda _friends?_ Psh, lame.”

Rhys groaned. “Come on, man... Please get real...”

Yvette snickered again, but seemed to be trying to contain it.

Jack also laughed - Why was everyone finding this so damned funny? - before sobering with an abruptness that was jarring. “What was so important you had to hang up, anyway?”

“I’m CEO, Jack. Besides, I don’t have to tell you everything I do.” Rhys reluctantly dragged himself from the bed, taking the Echo with him. He stumbled into the kitchen and set to work on making coffee, hoping it’d help chase away the hangover. “In fact, I _shouldn’t_ tell you much of anything that I do. You’re from a rival company. I mean, technically we have a partnership, but that’s just for business deals.”

“Well, sure, but _technically_ we haven't worked out the deets on that. Besides, it's just common courtesy to tell someone why you were a rude jerk to them, especially when it really seems like you hung up on that person to run off partying."

"That's not-"

"Buuuut, whatever… I’ll let it slide. Handsome Jack’s generous like that.”

Rhys snorted. He reached for the vial of painkillers. He popped one and poured his coffee, adding a splash of cream. As he stirred, a thought occurred to him. "Wait. How the hell did your call get through anyway. I had my stuff off."

"Three words, kid. Are you ready for this?  _Jack. Hack. Attack._ Eh? Pretty sweet?"

Rhys pinched the bridge of his nose. "Of _course_... And besides, you've used that one before."

"Yeah, and I'll keep using it, because it's _awesome_." Jack shifted in the screen, and Rhys found himself trying to make out details in the background. He couldn't see much, but some overhead lights of a pearly-white color were visible. "Anyway, kid, are you going to come down here or what? Today or tomorrow would be perfect, seeing as it's the weekend."

“I didn't even agree!" Rhys said as he sat down, sipping on his coffee.

"That's...why I'm asking?"

"Jack..." Rhys took a moment to inhale. "I just...don't understand."

“What is exactly so hard to understand about 'would you like to come visit'? Seems pretty straight forward to me, dumdum.”

“Why do you want _me_ to see this? CEO of a _rival_ company _,_ remember?”

“Rival companies, sure, but you seem to keep forgetting our deal. You’re the one who gave me the Eridium, so I figured you should get a peak. Plus it’s badass and why _wouldn’t_ you want to see this?”

“Jack, there’s people who deal with the overview stuff. They'll send the report as soon as Hyperion officiates it. In other words: not my job. I’m an extremely busy man-”

“Yeah, yeah, blah blah, Mr. Party Head, I am too, but you don’t see _me_ complaining.”

"It's unnecessary and out of my way.”

“Come on, Rhysie, _cooome onnn_ … You really aren’t even a _little_ interested? Trust me, you won’t be disappointed. 'Sides, the Hyperion report's only gonna have what _they_ want it to have. This way I share more than that."

"Isn't that...against company policy. Or something?"

"They can't do shit about it. I'm the one down here, not those dicks on the board."

Rhys took a larger drink of coffee. "I thought you didn't want to share before.

"At first I was a little eh on it, but I've changed my mind. You deserve to see more." There was a pause, Jack's expression going from amused to unreadable. He added, "Besides...I was hoping to buy you dinner.”

“Dinner?” Rhys stiffened. Was Jack going to poison him? He instantly shoved that idea away. If Jack was going to kill him, it wouldn’t be with poison. Jack preferred more dramatic methods of murder like shooting you in the face or wringing your neck.

That didn’t give him much comfort.

No, surely not. The specifics of the site deal still had to be haggled over by logistics. Jack couldn’t kill him...yet. Not unless he decided he didn't want his Eridium anymore. But now that he had Hyperion resources maybe the deal wouldn't stop him. Maybe Jack still wanted revenge. Maybe this was some kind of hostile takeover in the making. Rhys honestly didn't know. He'd sworn to himself he wouldn't let his guard down.

“Yeah,” Jack said with a laugh that crinkled his mask. God, did that mask look so _life-like_ , Rhys reflected suddenly. How did they _make_ it? Did it come off? “ _Din-ner ._ ” Jack emphasized each syllable as if pronouncing the word to a toddler.

“Why?”

“Jeeze, don't sound so suspicious, kid. It's just as a little personal thank you for the deal. Plus, we gotta eat anyway. And honestly? I just need an excuse to go to the new restaurant Hyperion's opening, and you do too! It'll be fun. I can't remember the last time I had a decent friggin' meal with genuine flavor. We'll be the first customers. And there'll be VIP privileges and discounts. Pretty cool, right? You're in the big leagues now, kiddo.”

Rhys had to process that. “Are you _sure_ good food exists on Pandora?”

“Oh don’t worry about it, it does, but it does only here in Opportunity. So that's why you need to get your ass down here to have some. Trust me. I'm never wrong about food.”

Rhys leaned back in his seat, sighing. _Oh, screw it._  Who knew the promise of a nice dinner was enough to win him over? Possibility of imminent death be damned. It would be nice. The food Rhys had been importing for Atlas was hardly top quality, mostly to save on costs at the moment. Atlas couldn't afford to dish out extra if it could be helped. He missed those fine dinners he and Vaughn and Yvette used to save up for every once in awhile on Helios. “Alright, Jack. Fiiiine. I guess I am a _little_ curious. I'll be down tomorrow.”

“Awesome! Oh, and don't forget to dress nicely. Anyway, I’ll see ya then.”

And with that, the line went dead.

Rhys thought he might feel a little annoyed, but the truth was, he was kind of happy with this. He’d finally see what all the fuss was about. And the meal was a nice bonus.

"Really?" Yvette asked. She walked in and helped herself to coffee.

"Really _what_?" Rhys asked.

"You refused to meet with him until that man said he was going to buy you dinner, and then magically, all caution thrown to the wind, you were all for it. And you're still going to tell me you aren't in love with him?"

"Oh okay, it's not _that_ kind of a dinner!" Rhys insisted. "Besides, why are you listening in on my calls?"

"As loud as that man is, hard not to."

Rhys sighed, rubbing his face. "Is this really such a bad idea?"

"Yes," Yvette said without missing a beat.

"God," Rhys pushed his face into his hands again. "I could use a little more faith here."

"Well, I suppose I could lie. Which seems shitty of me when your life could be on the line here. But if you really want-"

"Yeah, yeah, okay..." Rhys said, a weight growing in his chest, knowing she was right. "I'll...I'll call it off later."

"Uh huh."

"I will!"

"You won't. I'd even bet a week's worth of lunches on it."

"Deal," Rhys said.

"Oooh nice," Yvette said. "I'm looking forward to those lunches."

"Me too," Rhys said. "Because you'll be buying for once."

"Hah, we'll see."


	7. When Skags Fly

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter wound up getting longer than I intended XD.  
> Also there's some mentions of past Nisha/Jack this chapter, but that's all. Definitely not enough for me to feel justified tagging.
> 
> Alternative chapter title is - these bois are dumbasses
> 
> God this fic is too fun to write

Once Rhys had showered, dressed, and tamed his hair, he returned to the kitchen. He found Vaughn awake, sitting at the kitchen table with Yvette, sunglasses hiding his likely sore eyes.

Rhys announced to his friends, “I’m gonna do it.”

Vaughn asked, his voice raspy, “do what?”

“Call off the dinner,” Rhys replied. He felt much more awake now and ready to follow through on his promise, his hangover chased off by the painkiller and coffee.

Yvette said, “the one I was just telling you about.”

“Oh. Right. The one you two made the bet on. The one…with Jack. Jack and Rhys.”

“Alright,” Rhys said, pulling out his Echo communicator. “Watch as I earn a week’s worth of lunches and ultimately wipe that smug look off Yvette’s face.”

“Can’t wait,” she replied with folded arms.

Rhys dialed Jack’s comms. He kept it to audio only because he figured that’d be easier for everyone involved. _Just tell him and hang up._

“Y’ello~” came a cheerful answer. “What’s up, babe? Jack of your dreams answering.”

Rhys rolled his eyes. “Hey, Jack-”

“Ahhh, Rhysie cupcake, I was just thinking about how I forgot to set up a specific time for our meetup and dinner! Which I’m _really_ looking forward to, by the way. This is gonna blow your socks off, kiddo... That’s what you’re calling about, right? Need to know when to meet your ole pal Jack?”

“Right, Jack, listen-”

“Would six o’clock be cool?”

Rhys stared at his device, watching the flicker of the signal bar on the small screen. He glanced up at Yvette, her gaze twinkling as she mouthed, _“go on.”_

Rhys looked back down at the device, swallowing.

“Hello? Can you hear me, pumpkin? This thing working?”

“Y-yeah, I’m here.” Rhys cleared his throat. “Um. Actually. Jack?”

“Yeah, what’s up? Six not a good time? I know it’s a long drive, and you’ve probably got a bit of homework-”

“So here’s the thing.” Rhys glared at his Echo, forcing his mouth to speak. “I…”

“What _is_ it?” Jack’s voice started to sound impatient. “This suspense is _killing_ me! Come on, spit it out before I have an aneurysm.”

“Well, actually, let’s just say that I can’t make it,” Rhys blurted, wincing. He hated the way his chest felt heavy, outweighing everything else in that moment. Even his worry of pissing Jack off.

“You _can’t_?” Jack responded, sounding offended. No...not offended, Rhys realized, but _also_ disappointed? “Why the hell not?”

Jack must be lonely. He was an extroverted man and he hadn’t had much contact with anyone since his return to the flesh. Rhys’s fingers dug into the kitchen table, his robot hand squeaking on the hard surface.

 _Shit_. Rhys couldn’t afford to feel _sorry_ for the bastard.

Rhys heard himself add, “...at six. I meant I can’t make it…at six.” Fucking hell.

“Ah. You got a better time?” There was something like…relief in the reply.

“Seven?” Rhys asked, avoiding Yvette’s and Vaughn’s gazes.

“Perfect, I’ll see ya then, mm’kay, babycakes?”

“Sounds great, bye,” Rhys managed before he slammed his pointer finger down on the disconnect button. He looked up at his friends, expecting to see Yvette with the smuggest expression on Pandora. However, she just looked keen, maybe even concerned. “I uh,” Rhys started and took a deep breath. “...I felt bad.”

“Right,” Yvette said. “Well, I just earned myself a week’s worth of lunches...if you don’t get killed first.”

“I...” Rhys frowned. “Well, it’s just lunches, and it seemed shitty to cancel plans like that… I mean, if Jack wanted to kill me, he would’ve done it by now… Right? Wouldn’t…wouldn’t he do it some other way, or…?”

“Your guess is good as mine, bro,” Vaughn replied with a shrug. “I just wanna nurse this hangover in peace.”

“If it makes you feel better,” Yvette said, “I think Jack is serious about the dinner which means it’s not a guise to lure you into a trap or something.”

Rhys wasn’t sure that made him feel much better.

* * *

Saturday arrived with more weight than Rhys had expected. He stood before his wardrobe, drumming his fingers on the polished wood, staring at the Atlas suit with the dark gray vest. He nodded. It would be enough. The suit was nice, and the burgundy, honeycomb patterned tie would keep it from being too ostentatious. The meetup with Jack wasn’t for awhile yet, so Rhys decided to wait to put it on. He’d have time.

He heard the chime of his front door opening.

“Yvette is here,” LB announced from the next room.

“Alright, I’m coming,” Rhys said, leaving his room. He noted Dumpy and Shiny floating off from the entryway, doing little aerial bounces.

Yvette strolled in through the door, greeting LB and then Rhys. “Hey.”

“Hey,” Rhys replied, “what’s up? You here to hang out before I leave?”

Yvette walked up to him and clasped his shoulder. She stared him dead in the eye and said, “I’m here to both keep you alive and help you get laid by the man of your dreams.”

“I’m- I’m sorry?” Rhys asked, taken aback, overcome with the urge to step away. He resisted the feeling.

“You heard me.”

“Okay, yeah, I did, but... _What_ are you talking about?”

“Tonight. Your big date with Handsome Jack himself.”

Rhys giggled, rubbing his neck and ignoring the heat in his cheeks. “Oh, hah-hah, very funny you. Could you _please_ stop acting like it’s a date?”

“Nope. So, what are you wearing tonight? I should hope you aren’t going in your PJs.”

“Of course not! And what does it matter to you, anyway?” Rhys asked, plopping onto the couch, but Yvette didn’t join him. She just stood before him and stared down at him, expectant.

She nudged his leg with her foot. “ _Show me_ , Rhys.”

“Whyyy?”

“Come on. You’re no fun anymore. Now that you’re all big important CEO, you won’t even let me give you fashion advice. You used to let me help you get dressed up all the time for dinners. I miss it.”

“Fiiine,” Rhys said, standing, “but only because you looked all pouty. Right this way, madam,” he said with a sweep of his hand toward the master bedroom. They walked into it and Rhys crossed the space to his wardrobe, pulling out his chosen outfit. He tossed it on the bed. “There.”

“This.” Yvette gave it a once-over and looked at him, brows furrowed. “Are you _serious_?”

“Yes. Why?”

“This is atrocious, Rhys. Jack will take one look at that and probably go on a killing spree, starting with you.”

Rhys snorted. “And just why would Jack care _what_ I’m wearing?”

She gave him a _look_. Rhys wasn’t sure what the look was supposed to convey, but it felt quite judgmental. “ _Rhys_.” She walked to the wardrobe. “What’re the tightest pants you own?”

“ _What_?” Rhys asked, crossing his arms. “What kind of a question is that?”

“Which ones?”

Ears blooming with warmth. Rhys opened a drawer on his dresser and pulled out tights. Yvette watched as he held them up. “The hell… Why do you have _those_? Don’t answer. That’s too tight... For now.”

“See?” Rhys asked, stowing them back in their place. “This is silly.” He shut the drawer, maybe a bit harder than necessary.

“Alright,” Yvette said. “Just hang on. We can fix this. Thank the stars you have me, or you would definitely be shot dead tonight.” Within minutes, Yvette had dragged out several pairs of his fancier pants, comparing them to each other in silence. She finally tossed dark black slacks with red and gold streaks down the side onto the bed. “Hope those show off your ass,” she said. “Not that you have much ass _to_ show.”

“Come on, Vet, you can’t be serious.”

She ignored him and delved into the wardrobe again, coming away with a rich-red dress coat and black tie. “Wear a white dress shirt under it,” she said, tossing them onto the bed with the pants. She pointed at his original choice. “And take this...thing out back and burn it with gasoline in a barrel.”

“This is...way too much,” Rhys said, eyes roving over her selection. “How embarrassing is it going to be when I show up overdressed as hell? I don’t even wear that to board meetings.”  

“Trust me, Rhys, you’ll be silently thanking me later when he’s got his fingers up your-”

“Ooookay, haha, I’m gonna stop you right there.” Face burning, he narrowed his eyes and locked his hands behind his neck. “I know you find this whole thing hilarious, but I think we need to discuss just exactly what you think is going on here. Jack and I… _aren’t_ going on a date, okay?” He had to chuckle at the ludicrousness of that statement. “Like I said, it’s not _that_ kind of dinner. If Jack had any ah... _aaattraction_ -” He coughed hard, finding it next to impossible to even register such a possibility. “Excuse me. If, well, he had. That. _To me_. He would’ve said so a long, long time ago. He’s not the kind of guy to get shy. And let’s just say you’re right, and he did...find me…”

“Attractive?” she supplied ever so helpfully.

“Yeah, that. He would still see himself waaaay outta my league.”

“You’re CEO now. You seem plenty in his league to me.”

“Then you don’t know Jack. Besides, he already told me once he’s straight.”

Yvette sat on the bed. “You do realize you’re pretty enough to make any straight man question his sexuality, right?”

“Oh, come on!”

“I’m serious! And just _why_ were you discussing _sexuality_ with him in the first place?”

Rhys chuckled, scrubbing his flaming cheeks with one his left hand. This was too much. “He… He likes talking about sex, obviously. He’s just a...carnal guy, y’know?”

“Alright, I’m gonna just say this plainly. There’s a reason he was flirting.”

“That…that wasn’t flirting. That’s just how he talks. To everyone. Everything. Even inanimate objects!”

“So why else would that man be buying dinner for you?”

“I…” Rhys hesitated. “I think…” He folded his hands together. He also sat on the bed, settling in the space between the two suits. “I think he’s...lonely.” At her look, he added. “Not _that_ kind of lonely. He…he used to be surrounded by people, right? As many or as few as he wanted at any given time. And then he got stuck in my head and I was- was the only one who could interact with him. So I’m… I’m the only person left he knows that is at least on friendly terms with him. I mean, if he could have his girlfriend, or hell, even just some trustworthy coworkers there instead, he wouldn’t even be asking me to come to Opportunity. He just wants an excuse to talk someone’s ear off for an evening.”

Rhys fiddled with the sleeve of the suit, staring at the strong accents. “And being completely honest I…I’m not… Even if I _wanted_ to. Even if _he_ wanted to… It’d be a baaad idea, I mean, the absolute _worst_ idea. Talk about baggage, and I mean...there are bad boys, and yeah, that can be...hot, sure...but then there’s Jack… He’s not...just some edgy, leather boy with a disturbing aesthetic and an unhealthy obsession with guns. He’s this…this unstoppable force that does what it wants, that gets what it wants. He literally came back from the dead, twice _._ And we’re not even getting into the fact that he’s from a rival company and he’s untrustworthy.”

Yvette sighed. “Rhys…”

Rhys continued, “and you do realize I’m like...the complete _opposite_ of his type, right? Laugh at my former obsession all you want, but I know for a fact that he likes weird, hot, older women who know how to handle guns and have tons of experience. You’ve heard of- of that bartender Moxxi? You know they dated, right? And she wears _clown makeup_. And his last girlfriend Nisha is literally a _cowgirl_ with purple lipstick who loves murder just as much as he does! Also from the videos I've seen, she gives off some serious dom vibes.”

“Alright,” Yvette said with a shrug. “Fine. If you’re right, then all the more reason to wear that suit. At least it’ll look like you put in effort tonight, and I’m sure that’ll score you some points with Jack if you’re serious about this partnership.”

“You think so?” Rhys asked.

“Yes. I do.” Yvette checked her watch. “Alright. Just don’t wear those gray, skag-skin boots with that suit. That’d be horrifying. Anyway, I gotta get. Hanging out with Janelle tonight. Have fun and try not to piss Jack off. I’d like to know if and when you make it home alive, too.”

“Yes, yes,” Rhys said. “Of course. Don’t worry. I’ll be fine.”

* * *

Rhys entered the room that he and Jack had first discussed their deal in, the one with the scattered tech everywhere. Not much had changed, except Rhys now noted a haphazard pile of clothes in the corner and a refrigerator nearby. Did Jack live in here? Rhys didn’t see any beds. Jack had probably just scattered stuff around as needed. It wasn’t like he had any roommates to be conscientious of.

Rhys spotted Jack standing near one of the computers, his back turned to Rhys. Rhys wondered if Jack knew he was there. Surely. Surely people couldn’t just walk in here, right? He cleared his throat to be safe.

Jack turned around.

 _Holy shit_. Rhys had to stop and stare. Jack was dressed in a sharp three-piece suit with a gold tie. Rhys swallowed hard, feeling heat crawl up the back of his neck. A man with a mask attached to his face via _metal clasps_ had no business looking _this_ good. Rhys realized he had never seen Jack in anything but the piles of layers he usually wore. He had also forgotten how… _present_ Jack was in person, how much aura he exuded, now made even stronger with the fancy suit.

Good thing he had listened to Yvette. His fear of overdressing seemed silly, in retrospect. Not that he would ever admit that to her.

Jack gestured for him to come over.

Rhys did so on unsteady legs, nerves wound up tight. “Um, hi?” he said, pausing a few steps before Jack and fidgeting with his hands. “Hope I’m not late. I…got lost and-“

Jack closed the distance between them. “Heya, Rhysie,” he purred, too close. He leaned in even closer, like a lion examining fresh kill, and whispered, “you look _so_ hot tonight, tiger. Almost makin’ _me_ jealous. Almost.”

Rhys felt the flush spread into his face, and he ran a hand through his hair. He _casually_ stepped back. “Uh, thanks? You too?” Shit, what kind of a response was that? “Uh…I mean…” Jack’s expression grew confused. Rhys folded his arms, trying to control his reaction, ignoring the way mortification settled in his chest. “So...uh, _yeah_ , what’s- what’s behind that? You ready to share that much?” He asked.

Jack looked even more confused. “Behind what?”

“That big eerie door,” Rhys said, pointing at the big level 4 clearance door from before with its red warning light.

Jack glanced at it. “Oh…that. Thought I told you it was none of your beeswax.”

“Curiosity is maddening.”

“ _Curiosity_ killed the cat.”

“But satisfaction brought it back to life,” Rhys finished smugly.

Jack looked at him. And his lips twisted into a vicious grin. “God, do you know how long I’ve been waiting for someone to respond with that?” He laughed. “Like… _forever_!”

Rhys preened. “Honestly, same.”

“You’re really something, kiddo.” Jack turned fully to the door. “Anyway, I can’t divulge this secret. It’s not part of the project related to our deal. And I’d really _,_   _really_ appreciate it if you left well enough _the hell alone_.” Rhys shuddered at the sudden threatening tone.

“Just…tell me one thing?” Rhys hesitated. “Is it…a threat?”

Jack tilted his head at Rhys, expression clouding with something heavy. He shook it as if to rid himself of whatever dark emotion was there. “Nah, what’s gonna come out of that room is gonna be amazing and dangerous, probably, but not a threat to you.”

Rhys was confused. “But it’s a threat to some people?” Because that sure seemed implied.

Jack shrugged, frowning. “I suppose it could be, but hopefully it doesn’t come to that.”

What did that mean? The answer left Rhys with more questions, but he knew that if Jack was going to tell him, he would’ve already.

Rhys shifted. “Soooo...weren’t you going to give me a peek at that project?”

“Yes. Right! Almost forgot!” Jack twisted around and flicked on a computer monitor. “What _is the_ most powerful, genius, and _handsome_ Jack working on? This!” He spun the monitor towards Rhys.

Rhys leaned in, studying the contents. “Can I…?” At a nod, he scrolled the page, eyes flicking to the highlighted and bolded information first. “This is…” he started, spotting a series of formulas. “Whoa.”

“Yeah, I know right?”

“You did this by yourself?”

“Uh, yeah? Duh? Surely even a dumdum like you hasn’t forgotten how incredibly smart I am.”

“It’s just…a lot of work,” Rhys said, knowing full well Jack was hardly good at focusing his wild energy. Or maybe he had misjudged that much. There was a reason Jack had gotten as powerful as he did before his death.

Jack sighed in a long-suffering way. “Yeah, sometimes even the hero has to get their hands dirty because _someone_ killed off all their workers.”

“This...isn’t what I expected,” Rhys admitted.

“What did you expect, sunshine, besides pure badass awesomeness?”

“I don’t know. Weapons. Bots. Maybe a new space station. This...this is…” Rhys hesitated. “Can you uh, explain to me _how_ this is gonna get us rich.”

“I know I didn’t give you a lot of reading time, but…jeeze, kid, _think_ about it for a second. This reactor would take one gram of Eridium and churn out enough power to say…keep a city as big as Opportunity running for _years_. Or hook up a lovely giant ass gun and wipe some smug bandit settlement off the map if you want. Whatever tickles the fancy.

“And it’s gonna earn us a fortune because I’ll _sell_ it and that’ll put me right back on top of Hyperion. I already have a demo planned for the board idiots in a couple weeks. With this technology, Hyperion - and Atlas - will outpace everyone on the market. The E-tech market will look like child’s play in comparison to this. Pretty sweet, eh? I can worry about weapons and space stations once we’re rolling in dough again.”

 “You know,” Rhys started, returning his gaze to Jack’s. “A lot of people wouldn’t have wanted me to trust this deal of ours. They would’ve had me refuse. And to be honest, I kind of wanted to agree with them, but...I didn't. And I’m not disappointed.”

“You can always trust me to make a pretty penny, tiger. Anyway, now that the boring stuff is outta the way, let’s go.”

Rhys raised a brow. “Go where?”

“To dinner, of course. I’m _starving_. Said, I’d thank ya, right?” He winked.

Rhys had been expecting to spend more time with the project, not on the dinner. “But I’ve barely looked at this thing,” he protested, turning back to the monitor.

“Cooome ooon, I’ll send you a copy later. I’m hungry _now_.”

Rhys swore Jack could act like such a child sometimes. “ _Alright_ , I suppose I am pretty hungry.”

“Great.” Jack stepped closer again. “By the way, cupcake, I wasn’t kidding when I said you look hot as hell. Finally learning a bit about fashion, I see. That’s good, good for you.”

Rhys blinked, trying to process everything. “I got some advice…from a friend...”

“Come on, hurry up!” Jack said, strolling for the door. Rhys, still unsure of what was going on, had to spring into a quick stride to catch up.

* * *

The restaurant was two blocks down, and Jack opted to just walk it. Rhys saw loaders everywhere, removing debris and eliminating pests. The city was starting to look somewhat livable. Still, the damage had been extensive; reparation would take time.

They entered a building that didn’t look all that impressive on the outside, still marred with damage. However, the inside had been furnished out and looked quite nice. The floors were polished wood, the lights tinted to a soft gold hue. A fish tank with exotic aquatic creatures inside adorned one side. The music was gentle and relaxing. Rhys noted scenic paintings on matte walls – images of stunning vistas from beautiful planets such as Aquator. They filled Rhys with a strange longing and regret, a part of him wishing he could be somewhere other than Pandora, living a life that wasn’t this chaotic.

But it was only a part of him. He had to admit that a larger part of him did get a thrill out of this life. 

It sank in for him that he’d just walked into a barren restaurant with Handsome fucking Jack, and he wasn’t even armed. This seemed like the start of a twisted joke that ended with his body hanging over a fence somewhere. A small voice in the back of Rhys’s head started ranting about him not being careful enough. The lack of people didn’t help. It made the place feel…off, like it existed in a void.

But he could smell the enticing scents from the kitchen, and he just couldn’t bring himself to care about anything else.

Jack lead them to a fancy booth, immediately sprawling across one entire side of it. Rhys claimed the other, crossing his legs and focusing on posture. It’d been awhile since he’d felt the need to, but this called for it.

“So, uh… There are workers here, right?” Rhys asked, glancing up.

“Oh yeah,” Jack said. He pulled out an Echo and jabbed the button.

“Handsome Jack, sir!”

“Hey, idiots, we’re waiting!”

“Coming right away, sir!”

Jack shut the Echo off. “I paid a lot of money for those idiots to get down here asap. Just needed a real cook, y’know? The chef is actually good, but the other bumbling fools could do with some more brainpower.”

A nervous looking waiter arrived, and Rhys offered him a somewhat consoling smile. The man handed them menus then went off to gather wine at Jack’s command.

“Pick whatever,” Jack said with a careless wave, “price isn’t an issue, and seeing as we’re the only people the chef has to cook for… Well, Hyperion has to keep these guys funded.”

“Are you saying Hyperion is paying for this meal?” Rhys asked, glancing down the pricey menu.

“Well, Hyperion is paying for the food to be here, technically. But _I’m_ paying the chef and the dumb waiters for the dining experience. Anyway, since we’re VIP, it’s got a lot of perks, like free wine, more free wine-“

“You’re paying?” Rhys interrupted.

“Uh, yeah? I literally just said that.”

Rhys shifted, clearing his throat. “Shouldn’t...I be paying for my portion, then?”

“Listen, dork, if you were paying, this wouldn’t exactly be a personal thank you from me anymore, now would it?”

“Right.” Rhys watched as the waiter returned with some dinner wine.

Jack ordered rare steak. Rhys stuck to salmon.

“A dry white wine goes with that one, dumbass,” Jack said in a loud voice toward the waiter, gesturing at the red bottle in front of him. "This won't due for Rhysie here." The waiter mumbled something about bringing an extra bottle of white whine.

Jack laughed as he walked away. "What an idiot."

Rhys stared at the marble tabletop, tapping his fingers. The idea of the meal had been alluring but being in Jack’s vicinity threw the hopes of it being a relaxing experience out the window. Jack easily took up all the space around him as if the environment belonged to him. It was suffocating. Rhys just wished he could somehow…break this taught atmosphere, find some ease.

Rhys felt the sharp gaze on him and looked up at Jack’s mismatched eyes. They glinted, and Jack broke into a wolfish grin.

Rhys looked away.

It was a long, uncomfortable wait for the food. Jack, surprisingly, said very little. Rhys occasionally checked his Echo Eye for any new messages but found none. It was a relief when the waiter finally returned with their meal (and the white wine), and even Jack seemed too happy by the sight of the food to make a snide remark.

* * *

Upon receiving their meal, Rhys had been somewhat surprised to find that Jack finally exhibited manners in this one area of skill: dining. Chewing quietly, using the utensils, and even keeping his elbows off the table – the works. Rhys had anticipated Jack’s dining habits to be somewhat like a skag’s, fast and without grace. Weird thought, but the wine had settled in his brain. He felt a lot more at ease now. 

Rhys got a slice of pie for dessert and took his time with it. 

Jack had lost some of his intimidating aura after knocking back some of the alcohol. His voice became lazy, quiet, almost as if he was getting sleepy. “Gotta hand it to you, kid. You’re doing pretty well for yourself. Being CEO, already got dibs on a vault… I’ll be honest. I didn’t think you’d be able to handle the responsibilities. You didn’t even know where to start last time, what was heads or tails. Thought you’d be lost without me.”

“I hold many surprises, apparently,” Rhys replied, taking another bite of his pie. He swallowed. It was delicious. “But I haven’t been alone with the responsibilities exactly. Yvette’s been invaluable.”

“Yvette...Yvette… Why does that name sound familiar? … Uh, wait, you mean the one chick who _betrayed_ you?”

“That...was more complicated than that.”

Jack shook his head, a lock of hair falling out of place. “Sometimes you’re just too forgiving, pumpkin.” He took another drink. Rhys noticed that he was on his third wine bottle by now.

“It’s worked out for me. Besides, _you_ seem to have gotten a bit forgiving yourself.”

“What? What are you talking about?”

Rhys gestured at the table between them. “Well, this… The deal.”

“Me and _you_?” Jack narrowed his eyes. “Are you trying to imply I _shouldn’t_ forgive you, kiddo?”

Rhys nerves jumped, but he laughed it off. “That’s not what I meant. I just…” he cleared his throat. Good grief, he was really going to get himself killed, wasn’t he? “I guess I need to know where we stand on…” he trailed off.

“Well, perhaps I am being a bit more forgiving,” Jack said, sitting up suddenly, all traces of laziness vanished. Fresh energy was building behind his eyes, Rhys could tell. “But you gotta admit, pumpkin…we work _exceptionally_ well together.” Jack reached out with a single finger. He dragged it down the back of Rhys's cybernetic hand.

Rhys honestly wasn’t sure how to react to that. Jack was odd at the best of times and unceasingly touchy. This was normal. It was. Totally, one hundred percent, not-weird-in-the-slightest Jack behavior. And Jack was probably tipsy, anyway. 

“Uh,” Rhys responded, clenching his spoon harder to stop himself from rubbing his face and drawing attention to the flush he felt there. “I- I suppose we do.”

“ _Yeah._ We  _do_."

Jack stood up, drawing Rhys's attention from the dessert he was slowly consuming. Rhys found himself leaning back because Jack seemed even larger standing above him. Jack slipped out of his side of the booth and…slid into the space next to Rhys. He draped an arm around Rhys's shoulders. Again, with the touching. Rhys could smell the wine on him.

“Well, you want to know where we stand?” Jack asked. “The way I see it, what happened before isn’t gonna repeat itself. Because when we put our minds to it, we get what we want. Eridium? Money? Power? Anything. It’d be a waste to ignore that. We’re just...a good pair. Ambitious, powerful, super hot-”

“Alright,” Rhys said, setting his spoon down. He didn’t quite look at Jack because that would put their faces too close together. “Where exactly are you _going_ with this? The last time you talked like this you were buttering me up.”

“You even know me so well!” Jack was rubbing a slow circle into Rhys’s shoulder with a single finger. Rhys focused very hard on the pie. Okay, so maybe his body was reacting a bit. That was also normal. It was the alcohol. It was then he realized he hadn’t been to the club since Jack’s return... So, it had been some time since he’d gotten laid.

He shoved that thought quickly from mind.

“You comin’ to the demo? I want you there,” Jack murmured, leaning in. “For the project? Surely you remember me mentioning it.” Rhys could feel hot breath on his neck. _Christ_.

“Y-yeah, I remember. But. Umm, I’ll have to uh, check, the uh, schedule. You- you haven’t even said- uh, said _when_ it is exactly-“ Rhys really hated how blood was rushing downward to his groin.

“Come on, you can make time.” Jack said in his ear. “If you can make time for those losers at Atlas, you can make time for this.” His voice dropped low. “And I’ll make it _worth your while_.”

Rhys shivered, but he was also growing annoyed by Jack’s behavior. He clung to that irritation to keep him sane in that moment. “Really? And just how do you think you’ll do that?”

“Like this.” A warm wet sensation slid up Rhys’s neck. He jumped, struggling to process...that....

…Jack had fucking _licked_ him?

“What the hell?” He asked, pulling away sharply, looking at the man with wide eyes. Could Yvette be right? Because this seemed a little much, even for Jack. He swallowed hard, heart leaping up into his throat at the very idea. This was not something to write off as normal Jack behavior.

“Jeeze, relax a little, why dontcha? You’re tense as a whore in a confessional booth,” Jack said, rolling his eyes. “And now’s kinda a sad moment to get all shy on me, babe, dontcha think?”

“What are you _talking_ about?” Rhys demanded, glaring.

“I’m talking about us, you idiot. The mood, the flirting.”

Rhys stared at him. “The...wha- now- _Huh_?”

Jack pulled his hand away and rubbed his forehead. “Woooowww, okay, ya know, I really thought I was _maybe_ being a little harsh when I called you a dumdum before, but you really are this stupid, huh?”

“Since when-?” Rhys started, but a lot of things started to make sense. “Ooooh my god...Yvette was _right_ , holy fucking shit-“

“Right about what?” Jack asked in annoyance.

Rhys ignored that. He ran both hands through his hair. “Wooooowoww, I uh… I must be asleep right now, right? Because there is no way this is happening.” He was close to having a full on panic attack at this point.

“You think you’re dreaming?” Jack asked. “You have this dream a lot then, pumpkin? How exactly does this dream normally end?”

“I… No!” Rhys felt his face turn red. “Why would you even-? I’m, I’m not, I’m just- Don’t you just like women anyway?” he blurted the first thing that seemed to make sense to his confused brain.

“I’m gonna be completely honest, kid. You’re right. I don’t mess around with guys, ‘cause most of ‘em are ‘bout as attractive as a rotten spiderant corpse that’s been pissed on by ten bandits and an alpha skag. But you... You’re not so bad. For a dude, anyway. And I haven’t had a partner in a while. Turns out my girlfriend, yeah Nisha? Did I ever tell ya about her? Badass cowgirl bandit who killed other bandits? Anyway, she’s dead. By Vault Hunters. What else is new?” Jack puffed out his cheeks. “And I’m getting tired of my hand, ya know? And I just don’t trust anyone else on this pisshole of a planet near my genitals.”

Rhys gaped at Jack. “That was like…the worst mood-killer of an explanation I’ve ever heard someone give for wanting sex.”

“Come on, dumdum, just answer me. It doesn’t have to be like, super gay buttsex or anything. We could just trade handjobs? A little mutual masturbation, eh?” Jack said with a wink.

“I...uh...I can’t.” Rhys was only able to speak through sheer muscle memory. The absurdity of this situation knew no bounds.

Jack squinted at him. “I'm pretty sure I misheard ya because it sounded like you said ‘I can't’ after a significant stuttering sound when I offered you an opportunity to touch my dick.”

“No...you heard correctly,” Rhys replied, strained. His heart was pounding so hard he thought it might explode. He stood as best he could, hoping that would signal Jack to move. Rhys fell into businessman mode through absolute necessity. “Thank you for the dinner, Jack. It was lovely. But if you’ll excuse me, I have an early morning tomorrow and a long drive back to the Atlas HQ.”

Jack stared at him. “You really gonna turn me down, Rhysieee?” He asked. And Rhys reminded himself that Jack's tipsiness was to blame for this frankly embarrassing conversation.

“Yes,” Rhys said. “That’s exactly what is happening, Jack. While I appreciate the fact your hand must be getting rather sore at this point, I don't have time for this. You’ll just have to find someone else to… _jack_ you off.” Despite everything, he snorted at his own pun. "I'm sure once Hyperion comes back, hah, _comes_ back, someone there will be happy to...touch your dong for you." Rhys would've been impressed with himself if he wasn't also terrified of his own recklessness quite suddenly.

Jack glared, but he finally – finally – moved. Albiet slowly, almost too slowly, and Rhys stood there waiting, tense, uncertain what Jack was going to do. Once Jack had made his feet, he stared Rhys in the eye for several moments, but Rhys didn’t back down. Then, Jack... just slid out of the booth, allowing room for Rhys to pass by. Rhys slipped out, relief flooding him at the sense of not being cornered anymore.

“Fine,” Jack said in a low, tight voice. “Don’t come crying for it in the future, though, cupcake. I won’t offer again.”

“I won’t,” Rhys said. And with that, he powerwalked out of the restaurant, hurrying down the street to get to his car. He scrambled in, started it up, driving away from Opportunity as fast as he dared. He was barely anywhere when he pulled up his private comms with the Echo Eye. He called Vaughn.

Vaughn answered, “Uh, Rhys? What’s up? You alright, buddy?”

“Ooooh, not really, Vaughn,” Rhys answered. He just needed to get this off his chest, and he wasn’t ready to convey what’d happened to Yvette yet. “I’ve been with Jack.”

“Oh right. Is he trying to kill you?”

“Ah, what? No, no, I’m driving home now. But he...you know he took me out to dinner?”

“Yeah?”

“A _dinner_ , Vaughn,” Rhys groaned. “He said it was a thank you for the deal, and I was too big of an idiot to realize differently. Yvette was fucking right!”

“Oh no…”

“Yeah.”

“Wait, you are saying what I think you’re saying, right?”

“Yes, Vaughn! He wanted...wanted to…”

“Get you in on a big scheme to take over Pandora?”

Rhys frowned. “What...what, Vaughn, bro, keep up? Hello, it was _dinner_!”

“Oh. _Oh…_ Well that’s great, bro!”

“How is that _great_!” Rhys was almost in hysterics. He had to swerve his car back into the correct lane quite suddenly. Not that Pandora had much traffic, but better safe than sorry.

“I thought you wanted to bone him?”

“Ugh, do you have to say it like that?” Rhys groaned, feeling his face go red. “And no, I don’t want to- Ugh, how many times do I have to say it?!”

“So what, you...you turned down Handsome... _Handsome Jack_?!” Vaughn exclaimed, sounding horrified. “And you’re still _alive_?! Wait, wait, did he try to shoot or strangle you before you got away?”

“No, Vaughn, he didn’t. But I thought he might. He wasn’t exactly happy. Especially because I may have made a pun about jacking off?”

“Hoooly shit, bro. Damn he must really like you if he let you walk away from that. I mean, refusing Jack is like...I don’t know, the same as calling him ugly or something.”

“What the hell am I supposed to do?” Rhys asked with a groan. “This is going to make everything really awkward from here on out.”

“I don’t know, bro. You’ll have to probably...I don’t know, think on it awhile? Try to get a read on Jack’s mood later? Maybe he’ll just let it go.”

“And maybe skags will fly,” Rhys said. “I should never have agreed to the dinner... Ugh, what I have I _done_?”

“I think this is more a matter of what _haven’t_ you done. Or _who_ you haven’t done.”

“Knock it off, asshole.”

“Too early?”

“Waaaay too early.”

“I’m sure things won’t be as bad as you imagine.”

“Just...for the love of everything don’t tell Fiona. Or Yvette. Or anyone really. This is not good…”

“You know Yvette’s gonna find out, right?”

“I’ll…I’ll tell her myself. Once I figure out a way to convey this without it making her smug.”

“Right. Okay. Well I'm gonna just try to sleep now and not worry my head off over you. Drive home safe, bro.”

After a quick affirmation, Rhys hung up, turning up the radio in the hopes of distracting himself from his thoughts.


	8. Turn up the Crazy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer. I still know very little about how businesses work :P

In his office, Rhys’s thoughts wandered back and forth like a pacing skag in a cage. He was surprised his Echo hadn’t been blown up with missed calls from Jack during the night. Maybe Jack was through pestering him now that he realized he wasn’t going to get his fun. Rhys almost... _almost..._ _kind_ _of_ regretted leaving how he had. But he knew how incredibly stupid that thought was. He couldn’t afford to be careless. Jack was the last person on Pandora he could fall into bed with. Well, maybe not the _last_ , but close to it.

Besides, Jack had all the grace of a horny, fifteen-year-old boy, Rhys reflected as he tried to read some documents on his desk, to no avail. He couldn’t realistically imagine that sex with Jack would even be that good, especially since it couldn't be more obvious Jack had never touched another dick in his life. Not that Rhys could imagine Jack was much better with pussy.

How the fuck that man had ever had a relationship in his entire life was a mystery that would never be answered.

Right on cue, Rhys heard a small beep from his Echo Eye. He checked his notifications, finding a single message. From Jack. He hesitated, not really wanting to read it, dreading what it might say.

Curiosity won out.

_~demo’s gonna be on the 10th here at Opportunity. r u comin or not?_

Rhys scrutinized the message. It seemed odd Jack would want to include him after how disastrously their last interaction had gone. Perhaps Jack would be content to ignore last night, and they could both get on with their lives.

It was better this way.

Yvette walked into the office, heels clicking against the tiles. “Morning, Rhys,” she greeted as she approached.

Rhys closed out of his messages. “Morning, Vet.”

“You look like shit. Didn’t you sleep?”

“A little bit,” Rhys said, tossing some papers into a stack. “But it wasn’t exactly what I would call _restful_.”

“Well, guessing from the message I found when I woke up this morning, I’m going to say things didn’t go so great last night? What happened?”

Rhys sighed, brows pinching. Agitation flooded in all over again. “Are you sure you want to know?”

“Yes.” She took a seat across from him.

Rhys wasn’t anywhere near ready to discuss this, but… Whatever. He wasn’t sure he would ever be. Like ripping a band aid off, he wanted to get this conversation over with quickly, if painfully. “Turns out, you were right. Happy? Jack did indeed seem to be attracted to me.”

Yvette shook her head. “That is not a sentence I ever expected you to say with so much disappointment in your voice.”

Rhys leaned back, squeezing his eyes shut. He decided the prospect of getting this bullshit off his chest was not so bad after all. Yvette didn’t seem to be planning to tease him, which he was thankful for. “Turns out that asshole has some internalized homophobia- or maybe masculinity issues? Hard to tell. It’s probably both.”

“That bad, huh?” she asked. “Guess it’s not surprising.”

“He got drunk…said he was flirting with me. And then he said he didn’t want-” here, Rhys made quotes with his hands, “-‘super gay…buttsex’,” he grimaced hard, “but rather, an ‘exchange of handjobs’. His words. And that was all _after_ he told me his last girlfriend was killed by vault hunters and he was tired of his hand. What the _fuck_ is wrong with him?”

“Yikes,” Yvette said.

“Yep,” Rhys replied. “I think I would have rather he just shot me dead than make me hear all of that. It’s like being around a testosterone-fueled teenager who thinks they’re the alpha wolf, when in reality, they’re just a goddamned asshole.”

His Echo Eye beeped again, a reminder that Jack hadn’t stopped existing on the other side of the comms. A pity of sorts. “And the pain continues,” Rhys mumbled, pulling up his messaging to see an inquiry on why he hadn’t responded yet.

He replied, ~ _I don’t know if I can make it. I’m busy._

_~come on, pumpkin. that’s what u always say. the excuse is startin to get obvious._

Another message. ~ _is this bout last night?_

Great, so Jack _was_ going to bring it up after all. Rhys resisted the urge to headdesk.

And another message. ~ _i couldn’t care less about that._

_~come on Rhysie._

_~call pls. we need to talk._

Rhys sat back, huffing, the words "bad idea" ringing through his head.

Next came a barrage of emojis, all ranging from crying expressions to heart eyes and laughing faces. Rhys honestly couldn’t be sure what Jack was attempting to convey. _~pleeeeaaaaseeeeee, Rhyyyyysie_

“He wants me to call,” Rhys muttered.

Yvette raised one brow. “Maybe that’s-“

His Echo Eye informed him of an incoming call from Jack. “Well, too late,” Rhys noted, " _someone_ beat me to it. I guess he's not quitting so easily." He stood up and turned away from Yvette. “ _Jack_ ,” he answered, voice calm and cold.

 “Aw, what’s with the tone, cupcake?”

“Oh, I wouldn’t know,” Rhys said. He paced over to the large windows behind his desk. “How about you _explain_ to me what the hell you were playing at last night.”

“Awww. Are you mad, cupcake?”

Rhys forced himself not to growl his next answer. “Yeah, I am.”

“Why?”

That just about broke his contained agitation. “Are you _serious_ right now?”

“Yes, actually,” Jack said with a snort, “I uh, don’t… I actually don’t remember a whole lot from last night.”

Oh my god. Rhys paused, inhaling once, twice, three times before replying. “Well let me just remind you then! You came onto me with all the grace of a freakin skag in heat! It was embarrassing as hell!”

“Oh. Wait. It’s coming back to me.”

“Yeah. Even if you _were_ any good at seducing people – and you are the absolute worst at it, pal – do you _realize_ that we just can’t- can’t – what was the expression? Exchange handjobs? Yeah, that. You know why? Not only because we’re from rival companies, but because any interest I might have had in wasting time in such a way with you was instantly destroyed last night!” Rhys ended his rant, half expecting to meet Jack’s own anger in turn.

But Jack just laughed, long and loud and obnoxious. “Ohh my god!” He howled, sounding as if he would be doubled over if he were there in person, showing no evidence of controlling his mirth. “Oh my god- _Rhysie_!” He had another bout of wild laughter

“What,” Rhys snapped. “Is. So. Goddamned. Funny?!” Rhys felt a sinking feeling in his gut. He wasn’t completely sure what was going on, but he felt strange, like he’d said something stupid without realizing it. He didn’t like this.

“Oh my god, I can’t, I can’t even-” Jack coughed a few times. He drew an audibly deep breath, recovering. His tone became somewhat harsh. “ _Wow_ , kid, you’re really dumb as doornails, aintcha? I guess that explains why you got all pissy.”

“What are you _talking_ about!?”

“I was just _messin’_ with you.”

Rhys stared outside, watching grass blades sway in the breeze. He felt like his ability to process words had been short circuited. “What.”

“It was all a joke. But the fact that _you_ thought _I_ was serious. That’s just- that’s just pure comedy _gold,_ babe. You heard me say ‘buttsex’ and ‘exchange handjobs’ in the same breath and thought I _was_ _serious_.” He chortled like he might have another fit, but seemingly made the effort to stop himself this time. His voice dropped suddenly. “What, do you think I’m a friggin _clown_ or something?”

“Yeah, I do- Wait, what?” Rhys said, realization settling over him, leaving a nasty feeling in his stomach. “You _were pranking me_?!”

“Yes, dumdum. I made that perfectly clear.”

“But... You seemed damned serious. You- you _licked my neck!_ You couldn’t-”

“That’s ‘cause I needed to make it believable, which I guess worked pretty well. By the way, did you put lotion on your neck or something last night? ‘Cause your skin, was like, super bitter. Anyway, I just wanted to make you squirm a bit. It would’ve been so funny if you’d like, I dunno, got really hot an’ bothered and spread your legs or something and then I would’ve been all like, ‘surprise! _Psych_!’ But instead, you got all insult-y and stormed off and ruined the fun.”

Rhys let it all sink in. He ran his hands through his hair. “Woooow. Jack, I… I don’t even know what to say to you.”

“That good, huh?”

“Yeah, no. I…I’m speechless. I just… Just um, just wondering something. Are there, y’know, _bigger_ assholes than you out there? Because it’s hard to imagine. You should get a metal for it or something.”

“ _What_? You’re _still_ this mad, pumpkin? Why? Did you _want_ me to be serious?”

Rhys ground his teeth, ignoring that question. He was _not_ going there, not now. “What I want, Jack, is for you to quit screwing around with me!” he snapped, slamming his fist against the window. “I don’t need this shit! I’m not your plaything to fuck around with when you’re bored. I’m not your damned lackey you can make a fool of for your own amusement. I’m not standing for it, jackass.”

“Wow, that’s a _lot_ of vitriol over a little joke, _Rhysie_ ," From the tone of Jack's voice, Rhys's anger was evidently starting to rub off. "May uh, may wanna check your tone there, buddy, just a suggestion. Y'know, I’ve been letting this shitty attitude slide so far, because I'm fair, but I gotta be honest here. Patience is running out.”

“Well at least _that_ feeling's mutual,” Rhys spat, voice dripping with venom. “Because I really don’t wanna check my tone, _dickbag_. And guess what, I’m not coming to the demo. And you're actually right for once! It’s not because I’m busy. It’s because _I don’t care_." Once started, he couldn't stop. It felt good to just let it all out, the tangle of pent up emotions that'd been stuck in his chest like glue since Jack had crashed back into his life. "All I care about is you paying up what you owe Atlas. And I still want the papers you promised on the project. So, send those asap, _please, and have a fantastic day_.” He hung up without waiting for a reply, walking back to his desk and throwing himself in his seat. He realized Yvette was still sitting across from him

“That did not sound good.”

“No kidding. He said he was just joking,” Rhys responded. “Which makes sense, I guess, but I don’t have time for these goddamned mind games of his.”

“Wow, what an asshole,” Yvette said. There was an awkward silence in the air after that, and Yvette cleared her throat. “Well, let me know if you need anything. I gotta get back to my desk.”

* * *

“Wow, what happened to you?” asked a voice. “You look like someone who lost a million dollars all over again.”

Rhys looked up to see Fiona entering the office. “Don’t you ever knock?”

“Nah,” she said, sitting down on the nearby guest couch, crossing her legs. “Knocking’s boring.”

“What do you want?”

“Aw, not happy to see me?”

“It’s just..." Rhys inhaled, reminding himself he didn't need to direct his lingering annoyance at anyone other than Jack. "I don’t have any work yet for you. The vault won’t be accessible for a few more months. So unless you want to spend that time on Iphus...”

"I'm good." Fiona leaned back on the couch. “You know. We didn’t get to finish our conversation from before.”

“Remind me?” He said as he signed some legal documentation for those Atlas jetpack upgrades on his datapads.

She tilted her hat. “You know, about Jack?”

“God,” Rhys said, dropping the pad so it thunked onto the desk. He resisted the urge to pull his hair. “Look, Fi, I don’t know what to tell you that I haven’t already said.” He had grown tired of Jack infesting every inch of his life. If he could just have _one_ casual non-work-related conversation that didn’t involve Jack, it would be a blessing at this point.

“Just be honest with me on one thing.”

“What?”

“Do you think he’ll try to destroy Pandora again?”

Rhys paused, taken aback. He realized that with everything going on, he hadn’t seriously considered if Jack might intend to pick up where he left off and what that might mean. It took a few moments to formulate a response, one that seemed appropriate right now. “Honestly, Fi, I have not the tiniest idea what the hell that man wants or what he intends to do. He could be about to launch a nuke at the moon for all I know. I’d rather not even speak about him again.” He leaned back with an exhale. “Like, ever. Or hear about him. Or see him. Or listen to his stupid voice. Or be subject to his stupid pranks." _Or feel his breath on my neck..._ "Christ, why does he wear, like, _four_ layers? Maniac. If he could just crawl back into the hole he spawned from, that'd be nice.” _Just need to focus._

Fiona's brows had jumped up during his tirade. “Something happen _already_?”

Rhys laughed without humor. “Nothing you want to know about, trust me.”

“Alright. I’ve got my imagination, anyway.”

“Is there any way I can _pay_ you to stop bringing this up. _Please_.”

“Even I won’t stoop that low for money,” she said with a chuckle. She stood up and walked over to the desk, placing her hands on it. Rhys met her keen gaze. “But I will change the subject, since I'm merciful..."

"Ah yes, that's why they call you Fiona the Merciful, right?" 

"Yup. Anyway, the real reason I’m here. There’s someone I’d like you to meet.” She seemed oddly hesitant quite suddenly. “Someone who is going to be helping me help you with the vault.”

“Oh?” Rhys asked, perking up. Anything that wasn’t Jack-related was a nice break. Plus, he assumed Fiona would only bring on someone trustworthy. She wouldn't risk someone who'd make off with the loot. “And who might that be?”

“Rhys,” Yvette’s voice said over the intercom. “There’s someone here for Fiona.”

Fiona nodded at him.

“Let ‘em in,” Rhys said.

The doors to the office slid open soon after. Rhys's gaze landed on a tall, older woman with a silver stripe in her dark, short-styled hair. She wore an ice blue designer coat and dark, sleek pants with leather boots. She had the sharpest cheekbones Rhys had ever seen, and her very presence was commanding.

“She’s hot,” Rhys whispered before he caught himself.

“And you’re _definitely_ not her type,” Fiona shot back, scowling at him.

“Ah, Fiona dear,” the woman said in a high, strong, heavily-accented voice. She walked over, leaned toward Fiona... And...kissed her? It was on the cheek, but still... “We’re going to be late.” Her hand landed on Fiona’s arm, but her eyes went to Rhys. “But you must introduce us, dearest.”

“This is Rhys,” Fiona answered, still glaring at him. “Rhys, this is Lady Hammerlock, the vault hunter Felix hired to finish training me.”

“It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Rhys,” Lady Hammerlock said, offering her hand. “I've heard so much about you. You may call me Aurelia if you wish.”

“H-hello,” Rhys said, struggling with his shock. But he did manage to shake her hand. Her grip was incredibly strong. “Um, quick question, are you two… _dating_?”

“Is that what it’s called by poor people?” Aurelia inquired.

“No-“ Fiona insisted. “I mean- Dating is…a strong word.”

“I would have gone with _courting_ -“

But Fiona was shaking her head, face darkening. “That’s not…” She glared even harder at Rhys, as if this was his fault. “We kiss sometimes, okay?”

“Yeah, I’m pretty sure dating is the right word there,” Rhys teased, gleeful. He directed his next question at Aurelia before Fiona could protest. “You’re a vault hunter, then?”

“Indeed, darling. That _is_ what they call it when you get hired to hunt a vault, I suppose, even if I’m more in it for the sport of shooting things than the more mundane cash reward. Such would be useless." She was so well-spoken, it brought Rhys a since of calm and familiarity he hadn't had since before Helios. "I own a planet and hundreds of turbo-mansions,” she added with dismissive a wave of her hand. 

Rhys’s brows climbed upward, and he turned his gaze back to Fiona. She glared even harder. Rhys walked around the desk, elbowing Fiona’s side. “ _Daaamn_ , girl-“

“Shut up,” she said.

But he was still amused. “Whaat? I’m happy for you.”

"You've got that look you get when you're about to say something you'll regret."

"Hardly-" He raised a hand animatedly. "But like, _wow_ , I'm just shocked. Who knew you were smooth enough to land a trillionaire-"

"Alright," Fiona said. "That's quite enough. We should go, Aury, before we're late.”

"Yes, indeed."

She grabbed Aurelia’s hand and all but dragged the tall woman out of the room.

* * *

"Rhys," Yvette said. "Dr. Grace is here- wants to speak with you."

"What about?" Rhys asked, finding himself frowning at his monitor. "He doesn't have an appointment."

"He says it's important, but won't tell me details."

"Surely he can give you something of an idea," Rhys muttered, too low on sleep for this. "Look, if he can't tell you, he doesn't have to tell me."

There was a pause. Yvette spoke again. "He says it's about the future of Atlas."

Rhys blinked a few times, really wanting to say no. But still, maybe it could be important. Probably wasn't, but he could decide after getting an idea for himself. He sighed and rolled his eyes. "Alright, fine. He has fifteen minutes."

Rhys minimized the document he was working on and leaned back in his seat, folding his arms. The wide-eyed doctor... Rhys struggled to remember his first name. Bill? Wilfred? Damn it. Dr. Grace walked in. His expression smoothed out after a moment, the dumbstruck look being replaced with one of purpose.

"What is it?" Rhys asked when he was within speaking distance.

"Uh, Mr. Rhys, sir?"

"Yes?" Rhys asked, struggling not to sound as impatient as he felt. He was almost done with the one document he'd been on.

"I just need a few moments of your time," he said, pausing a few steps from the desk. "I thought you should hear this, from me."

Rhys waited for him to continue.

Dr. Grace seemed to realize he wasn't going to say anything. "Well... Handsome Jack has returned."

Oh. Great. More Jack talk. Rhys laughed, but more out of the fact he just couldn't _escape_ it than anything else. "Dr. Grace. It's just rumors. Jack is dead."

Dr. Grace took a step forward, expression earnest. "Mr. Rhys... I appreciate why you feel the need to lie, but I know for a fact it's not rumors."

Rhys's brows furrowed. "Did you just call me a liar?" He asked.

"I..." the man paled. "Erm…" He cleared his throat. "I'm deeply sorry, that wasn't what I meant-"

Rhys stood up. "If you don't have anything better to do with your time than call me - your boss - a liar, then I suggest you get the hell out of here and actually do something useful."

Dr. Grace stared, eyes bugging comically for a few moments. He swallowed, hard. "Sir, I noticed an a-anomaly in the numbers. I looked into it...and found that twelve Atlas robots had been sent to secure some random site in the middle of nowhere. I thought surely it was either a mistake, or someone up to no good, but... a little digging found out the truth. You sent them."

Rhys ran a hand through his hair, agitation growing. "Let me guess, you didn't stop there despite the fact _your boss_ had done this."

"I was just curious!" Dr. Grace defended. "I-I monitored the site. Eridium mine. Last night Hyperion came in and took over, and Atlas let them. By your orders. Today, someone came to me with undeniable proof Jack is alive, that you had spoken with him more than once, and that you had even struck a deal with him."

Rhys stared at Dr. Grace. What the hell? Who would've known that? "That's quite a funny story, Dr. Grace. But Jack _is dead_ ," he repeated, firmly. "You really should stop listening to rumors and idle Echonet chatter. If someone thinks Jack is back, it's probably because they've seen one of his surviving doppelgangers."

"But, sir- I am just concerned, is all."

Rhys had been answering to a lot of people over this shit. He'd be damned if he had to answer to one of his _underlings_. Rhys strolled around the desk, glaring at Dr. Grace, who was shorter. That was nice. It let him look down his nose at him. "Listen closely, Dr. Grace. I'm only going to say this once. Don't make me say it again. You are head of R&D. Worry about R&D. I'm CEO of this company. I worry about the company. Not you."

"I meant...you," Dr. Grace said, clearing his throat. "I'm worried about...you."

Rhys felt his eyes widen at that. He was taken aback for a few moments. "You are? Why?" He wasn't used to random concern from people he barely knew, especially in a place like a corporation on Pandora.

Dr. Grace adverted his eyes and stayed silent.

"Get out," Rhys said, irritation returning just as quickly as before. "Your fifteen minutes are up."

Dr. Grace didn't move immediately, and that annoyed Rhys. It was as if he wanted to say more, but Rhys didn't want to hear it. Finally, Dr. Grace left, still silent.

Rhys had received a handful of notifications quite suddenly. Thankfully, none were from Jack. Rhys skimmed them. One was from the buffoons at the Torgue Corp which he'd probably send down the chain of command. A couple of offers from vault hunters; he filed that away for later, but at the moment he didn't trust most vault hunters he knew about. Maybe that Zer0 assassin might be interested. After all, he seemed loyal to his missions, Rhys thought with a tiny smile. He shook his head. The next message in particular caught his eye, because in the preview, he saw _who_ it was addressed to.

_Rhys Meyers._

He opened it, dread in his gut.

_Rhys Meyers,_

_We have seen the vault and your involvement in it’s opening. The second will be opened soon. Please send all the information you contain on it in an encrypted reply. Do not try to resist. You know it is futile._

_P.S. You really should be more careful who you trust to be in the same room as you._

_-Matriarch._

The message was followed by a symbol that Rhys knew too well, one that depicted a blue sun. Rhys felt his heartrate pick up. His fists clenched. Rhys closed out of the message, trying to calm himself. There was a possibility it wasn’t what he thought. But that seemed very low. He deliberated for a few moments.

This was not good. There was no way _they_ should’ve found out about this. Not with how carefully he’d covered his own tracks.

Who had alerted these bastards?

 _Careful who you trust to be in the same room as you,_ echoed through his head. Rhys’s thoughts instantly jumped to…

Jack?

Would Jack do this? But why? This just didn’t feel like a Jack move. Seemed too underhanded. Had to be someone else.

Right?

Jack handled situations like a charging bull when one pissed him off. He preferred to take out his enemies personally, theatrically, viciously. Jack had beaten the last Atlas CEO to death with his bare hands, then crushed all of Atlas’s stock rates to dust, then hung it all on his wall as a trophy… If he wanted to, wouldn’t he try to do that again? Then again, Rhys knew that Jack had blackmailed his way to the Hyperion CEO position years ago. And Jack did like to be assured of his victory before making a move. So maybe…maybe, Jack _would_ do this. Perhaps Jack was trying to weaken him for a final blow, stretch out his resources to deal with this new issue. Or maybe later Jack would come forth and reveal this as a blackmail scheme.

Either way, Rhys couldn’t completely write Jack off. He had just yelled at the man earlier that day, and he hadn’t even gotten a read on how much Jack may have been pissed off in turn. The timing was suspicious.

Rhys had to at least make sure. Because if Jack was the leak here, he had to deal with it swiftly and efficiently, long before Jack would see the retaliation coming.

Rhys raised his cybernetic arm and stared at its pointer finger. He let the tip withdraw, revealing a thin, shiny needle underneath. He flexed his hand, and the tip slid back in place. Boy was this addition always handy. He'd used it a few times before, if only because it was necessary.

Rhys found himself hesitating. He really didn’t want to be around Jack right now, for any reason. And with the game he was about to play, it would certainly be dangerous. Cat and mouse, but he didn’t feel like the cat in this scenario.

Rhys called Jack.

"Y'ello," came a gruff voice.

"Jack," Rhys said, "We need to talk."

"Yeah we do. About your rotten friggin' attitude."

"I'm coming to Opportunity tonight," Rhys said. And hung up.

He took a deep breath and walked out of his office, his computer work all but forgotten.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ugh, Rhys, get some sleep, you cranky dumbass!
> 
> Anyway, things should get fairly interesting from here on out. If I can pull off what I'm planning, anywho


	9. The Crown Hangs Heavy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So you will notice this chapter that I changed things a bit from canon. Mostly because the writing for the endoskeleton thing is so weak, my writer brain refuses to work with it and had to come up with at least a marginally (hopefully) better plot.
> 
> Mind the newest tags!

Rhys entered Opportunity, taking his time parking. He stared at the building for several minutes, flicking the little tip on his cyber finger. Doubts ran wild through his mind. Jack might be responsible, but all he had to go on was a suspicion and not much else. If Jack wasn’t… he wouldn’t know where to start next. He’d never told a soul the kind of info his enemies now had on him.

Sitting here wasn’t accomplishing anything. Rhys forced himself to exit the car.

He sent a message to Yvette. _~If I’m not back in a few hours, I’m probably dead._ He closed his messenger down, turning off notifications.

Rhys entered the usual building he met Jack in, making his way to the tech-filled room. He saw nothing out of the ordinary. The room was almost the same as before, save for a few moved items. After some discerning, he also realized Jack was not there.

Perhaps it was better this way.

He paced to what seemed to be Jack’s computer, sat down, and started the scanner on his Echo Eye. With his recent upgrades, any security walls shouldn’t be a problem, and Jack would be none the wiser.

He was met with a list of folders and files. He studied them and found most matched the current Eridium project; there was even a file dedicated to projected profits and benefits. But some weren’t. He found something quite curious. A file on Atlas. The fact it existed wasn’t what made it curious. Jack would be a fool if he didn’t have _some_ info on his rival companies.

No, what was worrisome was _how_ extensive the file was. A full list of current Atlas employees and their typical schedules, financial records, product lines, stock values, base locations, and more. Worse, he spotted data that shouldn’t be known by anyone else yet, secret projects, classified information, and complete informative profiles of every board member. How did Jack _get_ this? Was there a traitor? A sell out? It seemed possible… But who would do it? Was it the same person who sold Rhys out to _them_?

 _Shit._ Rhys found his own file, and it had his employee records all the way back from when he first started on Helios, including the logs from his first cybernetic implant procedures. More alarmingly, Jack had full medical records. Including ones on his Eridian mutation thing, ones created by Dr. Tannis.

So Jack _was_ aware... And had never said a word? Odd. His suspicions mounted, breathing tightening, fists clenching. Fucking damn it, Fiona was right. He was an _idiot_. This was on him. For sort of trusting Jack. Again.

But he’d been sure he hadn’t let his guard too far down. How did this happen?

Oddly though, no matter how deep he dug through the records, he couldn’t find the information Jack would’ve needed to be the one to sell him out. There was no record of his past, or his last name, or anything even remotely related to his current problem.

Maybe Jack hadn’t sold him out.

But he couldn’t just relax. Jack had taken all this other information without permission, and Rhys needed to know how.

He heard the door open. Just in time. He needed some answers. He drew a deep breath, prepared for the worst, hoping for the best. He swiveled the chair around, his Echo Eye scanner closing.

Jack walked in, a look of surprise flitting over his face for a brief moment. “Well, well, well, look who finally showed.”

Rhys wasted no time. “Hello, Jack. You have classified Atlas information on your computer. Care to explain that?” He folded his arms.

“You hacked my computer?” Jack asked, brows pinching. “Guess I shouldn’t be surprised. Look, kiddo, it’s really simple. Y’know all the data on your company that’s stored in that nifty computer you got stuffed into your brain? Yeah, so when you passed out in the car a few weeks ago, I just... _downloaded_ it.”

Rhys stiffened. “You downloaded it from _my_ head? There- there were precautions-”

“Yeah, but your system let me right in. Like welcoming an old friend.”

“What-?”

Jack laughed a bit. “I left some data in the friend or foe signatures when I was there before in case I needed back in.”

“But I’ve upgraded multiple times since...” Rhys trailed off, bitterness and resentment growing.

“I’m just that good a programmer,” Jack said, pleased with himself. “No one would’ve noticed these changes, they were so _minute_. Nothing out of the ordinary? Nothing to change.” As Rhys glared in response, Jack went on, “Aaww, don’t get pouty, cupcake. What did you expect from a genius? I figured I may as well have that data, since we’re business partners and all.”

Rhys stood up. “No, you only have info that _I_ let you have.” He stepped forward, forcing himself through the intimidating aura exuding from Jack. “ _Partner_ ,” he growled. “Why would you do this? Planning to bring Atlas down again?”

“No, I _needed_ it,” Jack said, not even a little fazed by Rhys’s anger. “I could care less about your stupid doormat of a company. I barely cared about it when it _was_ a threat.”

Rhys chose to ignore the insult. “Needed the info for _what_?”

“Because you like to keep your damned secrets close to your chest. Makes it hard to trust ya sometimes, babe,” Jack replied, shifting. “Just like this.” A hand clamped around his left arm, yanking it up. Rhys jerked, but Jack didn’t let go. Jack ripped off the glove in a heartbeat, revealing the changed skin underneath. “ _Vault key_.” Jack whispered like a kid sharing a secret, looking directly into Rhys’s eyes.

Rhys ripped his arm free and put space between them. He was off balance.

But Jack followed with a slow-growing grin. “So, what exactly _are_ you doin’ here tonight, Rhysie? I’m guessing you didn’t come down here and hack my computer for the _fun_ of it. And I highly doubt this is about last night.”

Rhys’s back hit the monitors, and Jack wasted no time caging him in, one hand against the monitors by his head, the other resting at Rhys’s throat. Jack applied no pressure, their skin only just touching. It was a threat, and Rhys knew it. Rhys drew a shaky breath, picking out a place on Jack’s neck to jab him with the needle if this went bad. At least if Jack tried to strangle him, he’d get time to fight back.

Rhys struggled between whether honesty or lying was the best way to proceed.

“ _Well_?” Jack asked, voice growing impatient.

“I’ve…been sold out.”

“To who?”

“How do I know you don’t already know?”

“You think _I_ did it?” Jack’s voice was sharp, almost offended. “That’s why you hacked my computer?”

Rhys took a deep breath and looked Jack straight in the eye. “The people responsible for this… They’re basically a cult. And they wanted information on the new vault. Someone told them about me. Where I was, what I was doing… I escaped from them years and years ago, but… Here they are. So, who could have given them information I’ve never told a soul, but maybe the man who had access to my _memories, who I recently fell on bad terms with_? And now I learn you got into my brain _again_ very recently with no problem!? Pretty suspicious!”

“Friggin’ christ!” Jack hissed, somehow getting closer, breath hot against Rhys’s skin. “Your lame-ass memories only go as far back as your implants, dumbass, which were only a few years old by the time I wound up in ‘em. And I’m sure as shit that I don’t remember any _cult_ bullshit!” Jack’s voice raised. “And if I wanted to harm you, it wouldn’t be through your stupid past! Like I need to use dirty tricks against a little dork ass beanpole like you!” As if to make a point, his fingers flexed against Rhys’s neck.

Rhys jutted his chin. “Then who could’ve done this!?”

“Listen to me, and listen well, Rhys. _Anyone_ can dig enough and find dirt on their enemies if they want. _Anyone_. _I_ didn’t do this. I don’t have a reason to hurt you, Rhysie, how many times to I have to friggin say it!?”

“Oh, and how much reason did it take _before_?” Rhys asked. With a surge of anger, he shoved, forcing Jack to stumble back. “How much reasoning did it take for you to want to betray me then?!” He knew, somewhere in the back of his mind, that he was starting to be reckless, but he was too tired, too angry, too stressed, and his fuse had run out.

Jack’s expression changed, voice intensifying. “What did you. Just. _Say_?”

Rhys normally would’ve been terrified at the murderous look on Jack’s face, but he wasn’t backing down. Right now, he didn’t care. Later, he might.

For a brief time - fifteen? Twenty? Minutes - he’d had it all, everything he could have ever wanted. Hyperion under him, Handsome Jack beside him. And he’d deserved it. It’d been heaven. Better than heaven. He’d felt so...powerful, unstoppable, unbeatable.

But Jack had taken it all away, and a full year later, Rhys was still struggling to reclaim a fraction of that.

Rhys spat, “ _Why_ did you betray me?!”

“ _I_ betrayed _you_?!” Jack snapped. “That is reeeaal cute, cupcake, because from where I’m sitting, you betrayed _me_!”

They were so close, Rhys could feel spittle.

Rhys yelled, “don’t you dare say _I_ was the one who betrayed you, asshole! You tried to _kill_ me!” They were glaring death at each other, but Rhys refused to back down.

“You, tried, to shut me down,” Jack hissed. “Remember that, Rhysie?! Remember?!” His fists clenched in the air like he wanted to wring Rhys’s neck but was stopping himself. “That’s not what a partner _does_.”

“And you wanted to kill everyone! I couldn’t let that happen!”

“Rich coming from the guy who killed everyone _anyway_. Boy, was that like salt in the friggin' wound.”

“I didn’t have-”

“-have a choice?” Jack barked a harsh, condescending laugh. “Yeah, you said that already.”

Rhys started pacing. He ran his hands through his hair. “Agh, god, you’re such…such a dick!” He yelled, kicking a chair so it went rolling away.

For a moment, neither said a word, and Rhys struggled to gain control of his temper, breath coming to him harshly.

Jack finally muttered, “You wanna answer a question of mine now?”

“What.”

“You killed like...a whole lot of your coworkers to take me down. Tens of thousands of people, some of who you knew personally, in one fell swoop. Tell me, did you know exactly what you were doing? Even you can’t be that stupid, so you must’ve known.”

“Yes.” Rhys turned around. “I did.”

“Tell me...does that bother you? Even a little bit? Keep you up at night?” Jack’s tone was knowing as he spoke. “And I want an honest answer, pumpkin. None of that bullshit about living with it. ‘Cause you and I both know that’s a load of skag shit.”

Rhys turned to the monitors, placing one hand on a desk as if to brace himself, and he found himself replying, “I felt nothing. I thought...maybe I was in shock… But...the guilt never came.”

“And it never will,” Jack said, voice unusually serious. “Not until the ones you love get caught in the crossfire. Not until everything you ever cared about is reduced to rubble, and those who are left vanish into the night to escape who you’ve become.”

Rhys didn’t reply, his lungs suddenly tight. He could almost feel the heat of flames again, the thick smoke in the air, choking him, and a warped, distorted voice so haunting as it echoed around him that it sounded like a dying god.

Jack pressed, “You’ve killed since, haven’t you? There's no other way you would've survived out here this long.”

Rhys blinked, gaze raising, but still looking at nothing. “Yes.”

Jack growled. “And you _liked_ it, didn’t you? Gave you a _rush_?”

Rhys chewed his lip, the first answer in his mind failing to leave his lips. “It’s something that must be done, sometimes,” he said robotically. “That’s it.”

“Yeah. Sure. Keep telling yourself that.” Rhys heard the approach and twisted toward Jack, tense. Jack paused, expression unreadable. "Pandora breaks everyone it doesn't kill, in the end."

Rhys forced himself to think about what he should be asking. “What happened? Why did you do that? Start killing everyone? Back on the station?”

Jack turned away and roared, punching the nearest console. It dented deeply. Rhys jumped in surprise at the sudden outburst in the stillness.

“You wanna _know_?” Jack asked, voice ragged. Rhys saw that the skin on his knuckles had torn, sluggish blood creeping from the injury. “My daughter. I told you I found out about…her death... I didn’t just _find out_ , like reading it on a log or something. It fucking played in digi-space, that fuckin’ room was everywhere… _god_ … I watched…as she took her own life. It was like I was standing there, but…couldn’t do a damned thing, because it was just a frickin’ recording from the surveillance.”

Rhys watched the man deflate.

“I failed her,” Jack added emotionlessly.

Rhys didn’t even know what to say to that.

Jack turned back around, face unreadable. “She was five, y’know, when her powers first manifested. Her…her mother and I…well, we figured if we tried hard enough…we could help her.” He started pacing. “We did everything we could possibly think of, but sirens? You can’t just look that shit up on the Echonet. No one knows shit about them, and those who claim to, say everything under the fuckin’ moon, and just you _know_ they’re _lying_. Others said throw your kid off a cliff or sell 'em to cults. What the _fuck_?!

"So, we did what we could with what we had, but it wasn’t enough. At the time we were low-level programmers at Hyperion. Angel’s powers were growing. We didn’t have the resources to hold them back. We found ways to stave them off. Found ways to channel them. Into networks. Into machines. But we were only delaying the inevitable. In just a few short years, Angel's powers were threatening to burst, and we were out of ideas." Jack went rigid. “Then...her...mother…suggested we shut her down.”

Rhys felt trapped in some kind of weird dream, where nothing felt quite real. His gaze fell to the floor.

Jack drew a deep breath. “I said no fuckin’ way am I killin’ my own daughter. Not like those psychopaths on the Echonet. I’ll find a way to save her. I have to. I’m her father. I have to be her _hero_.”

He paused for a long time, and Rhys couldn’t look at him, scared of what he might see.

“That night,” Jack said, voice blank. “Angel’s mother went into her chambers to do what I refused to - without my knowing. The alarms went off. I got there as fast as I could… But I wasn’t fast enough. I found a small child crying. Her mother gone… Gone isn’t the right word. In pieces... Turned inside out. Angel understood she’d done something wrong, but she was only _nine_. How the fuck does a _nine-year-old_ live with obliterating her _own_ _mother_?”

Rhys shifted, squeezing his own arms and looking at the wall now. Anywhere but Jack.

“I went to my last resort,” Jack continued. “I started hunting the vaults, which gave me what I needed to climb to the top of the Hyperion food chain. Along the way, I uncovered Eridian artifacts that helped her. I thought maybe I could still save her. Years and years went by, and eventually, I found I could channel her powers into a vault key. But she had long since started hating her own existence. She didn’t…didn’t want to try anymore. Too long, too hard, the price too high. I couldn’t bring her around. She...wanted to die. She wanted me to let her die. When I refused… She…she thought I was just using her...” Jack’s hands fell onto the nearby chair, digging his fingers in hard from the looks of it, as if he needed to strangle something. “And I _was_ using her. I told myself it was for her good…but it _wasn’t_. I failed her.

“But what could I do… give her what she wanted? Let her die?”

Rhys was sure he was not meant to reply to that. This all still felt surreal, and he didn’t trust himself to say a word.

“So, Rhys, you wanna know why I started airlocking every shithead on that space station?” Jack growled, whipping around. The movement drew Rhys's eyes. “Because not a single, fucking _one_ of those morons mattered to me. Angel was the only person who ever mattered, and what did _they_ do, huh? They didn’t help her in any way. They didn’t stop the bandits or the vault hunters from killing her. And after my death, they all sat on their asses, getting fat and lazy off _my_ hard work, off _my_ resources, off _my_ company, doing nothing but letting it all go to shit while waging little stupid finger gun fights to mock my legacy! They deserved the cold vacuum of space. Every. Last. _One of them_!”

“Every last one…” Rhys repeated, mouth moving of its own accord. He saw Jack freeze stiff. “Does that include me? Did _I_ ever matter? Or was I next?” It slipped out before Rhys could stop it.

Jack made an aborted motion. “You weren’t next, Rhys. You weren’t like the others.” Jack cleared his throat. “You weren’t lazy and pathetic and useless. You proved that much on Pandora. You were the only one who seemed willing to do what it took. The only one willing to even _try_ to help me.”

Rhys thought of all those stupid posters that had been in his office. Jack, Handsome Jack, his face everywhere. Rhys had locked himself in his office and cried for a good twelve hours when Jack died. Well, the first time.

It was stupid.

All of it.

Why did he ever care?

“But did I ever _matter_ to you?” _as much as you mattered to me?_ Was left unsaid.

Jack’s face went through several expressions, as if undecided on which to settle for. “What _exactly_ are you asking?”

Rhys stopped. He realized his mistake. “I… Nevermind,” he said. “I’ve- I’ve gotta go.” Rhys made for the door, taking a fast stride. He could feel the sharp gaze boring into him with each step, but he didn’t look back.

* * *

First came the high.

_“We'll rule this entire freakin' universe. You and me, kiddo, President Rhys and Handsome Goddamned Jack.”_

The words had been like a shot of drugs through Rhys’s system.

_“I can’t believe this.”_

_“Why can’t you? Okay, I get it, a little imposter syndrome is normal when you've just got the throne, but remember, you had to kill like, hundreds of people to get to this room. Not to sound like a friggin’ shampoo commercial here, but you deserve this, kiddo.”_

_“…You’re right. And I should just admit it; I do deserve this.”_

_“Ooohh I’m so proud of you, my special boy. I just...wanna hug you right now. I'm gonna...gonna build a robot that’ll hug you whenever I tell it to!”_

Then, the power.

_“What do you want to try first?”_

_“Let’s try out the moonshot. Wipe a bandit camp off the map.”_

_“Alright, one moonshot strike at Prosperity Junction comin' up-“_

_“What, no, that’s not a bandit camp! _Jack. We. Are. Partners. You can’t just do something unless we’re in both agreement.”__

_“Mmmhm… Wait... _No, no... no no, nonnono-”__

_“Jack… Are...are you alright?”_

Then, the mishap.

**_“AARRGGH! Hey, dickbags! It’s me, the one true Jack again! Anyway, I see y’all morons have let my station go to the gutter in one short year! Yeah, yeah, I know you just- just can’t function without your uncle Jack, but there’s nooooo excuse for just how bad this is. Argh. God, it’s just like- like walking into a bathroom in a shady motel. Shit everywhere! Even the coding in Helios’s mainframe hasn’t been properly maintained!”_ **

_“Jack, what’s wrong?”_

_“...”_

_“Jack?”_

_“...She’s...dead.”_

_“Who? Who’s dead?”_

_“My...my little Angel…”_

_"Jack...I'm sorry."_

_“They’re gonna pay.. All of ‘em. Every last one of ‘em who were even remotely responsible. Starting with the failures on this station._

_**" _ **So** , whooo will start repaying me everything this company and I have lost? Let’s start with the losers in accounting!”_** _

_“200 accountants vented into space!”_

**_“Who’s next? Any volunteers? As I speak, I have algorithms already determining the next losers to be done with!”_ **

_“Propaganda Securities Department Neutralized! Armaments and Guns submersed in deadly gas! Sectors 2, 9 and levels B and A of housing vented! 628 employees dead and counting! Please ensure station securities are in place-"_

_“Jack! Stop! You can’t just kill everyone!”_

_“Oh-hohoho it’s not everyone, just everyone who fucked up my space station! Oh wait… That_ is _everyone. We’re startin’ over, baby. Wiping this shitty slate clean, and it's gonna be gorgeous.”_

_“That’s enough! Listen. To. ME!”_

_“What? ...You uh...gonna try to stop me, cupcake?”_

_“Jack, you need to calm down and let me help.”_

_“If you wanna help, then you'd better start helping me airlock these asshats."_

_"No, Jack. You need to stop."_

_"...or what?"_

_“Or I’m gonna have to temporarily disable your AI until you've-”_

_“You’re gonna betray me too, huh? After everything I’ve done for you!?”_

_“I’m not-”_

_“You little shit!”_

_Something slammed into Rhys's head, sending a shock through his brain. He yelped, realizing the neural jack was lodged into his port. “Shit!” He grabbed at it, trying to pull it out, but it was locked in tight. “Jack-”_

_Jack appeared before him in that familiar hologram form, and his voice echoed in Rhys’s ears. Jack was in his head again. “No one betrays me and walks away! Not them! Not you!”_

_Rhys yelped as his cyber arm came to life and slammed him into the chair with enough force to knock the wind from his lungs. Jesus. B _efore he could react, two restraints broke from the throne and snaked around his wrists, trapping him. “What’re you doing?” Rhys snapped, struggling.__

_“Deciding the best way to take care of you,” Jack said, looming closer. “Ya know, I used to really hate this whole digital space bullshit making me insubstantial in a physical sense, but uh, I gotta admit, this is kinda fun. I feel like a god or something.”_

_“Jack, let us talk!” Rhys hissed, kicking out and inevitably doing no damage. “I’m not betraying you-”_

_“Oh you say that now, but you we’ve been waiting for this, haven’t you? Gonna shut me down now that you have my throne, take all that power for yourself? Opportunistic asshole!” Jack leaned in closer. If he’d been human, Rhys would’ve probably felt his breath. “You were gonna use me and kill me, weren’t you?”_

_“No,” Rhys growled. “I just wanted you to stop killing our workers!”_

_”I’m done chatting, buttercup.” Jack moved in so close, Rhys saw every digital detail as he abruptly grinned. “Oh. This is gonna be fun.” Rhys felt the restraint leave his right arm, but before he could do anything, it came to life and snapped around his throat, squeezing. He choked. “Never strangled someone with their own hand before. Should be interesting.”_

_Rhys coughed. "J-Jack, stop…”_

_Jack showed no evidence of doing that._

_Rhys searched his mind wildly when he remembered- "D-Dumpy!” He yelled. “Help.”_

_The small drone sprang to life, whirring._

_“What are you-” Jack started._

_The robot’s laser zapped his cyber arm, taking it offline. The electricity tingled against Rhys's skin. It fell limply from his neck._

_“You little shit, you think that’ll stop me from killing you?!”_

_Dumpy’s laser severed the neural jack, sending a jolt of electricity through Rhys’s cybernetics. He flinched and gasped. As he sat there groaning and trying to recover, Dumpy cut the other restraint. Rhys leapt up, head swimming. He didn't have time to think about anything other than escaping. He dimly noted his cyber arm coming back online. Rhys flexed the fingers._

_“You know what?!” Jack’s voice blared over the speakers now. Good, he wasn't in Rhys's head anymore. “You’re friends are gonna die too, Rhysie! I’m gonna take em - Vaughn, Sasha, Fiona, hell that junky loader bot! - and jam an endoskeleton into their puny little bodies, and then I’m gonna connect my AI to all of ‘em! Then you’re gonna watch as your zombie friends tear you limb from screaming bloody limb!”_

_“You’re nuts!” Rhys snarled. “I don't know what I ever saw in you!"  Rhys jabbed the button on the chair, triggering the trap door. He gripped the Gortys beacon to make sure it hadn’t gotten separated from him. He stumbled from the chair, wincing. He rushed to the trapdoor but hesitated.  He couldn't resist getting in one more jab. “And just so we're clear, I’m way more handsome than you are!” He leapt._

_“Hell no!” The trapdoor slammed shut on Rhys’s torso, working a choked cry of agony from him. He was sure a couple ribs were broken. He got his arms between himself and the door, and pushed it open with all his might._

_Then he was falling, right to the bottom, the additional impact jarring everything. He lay in the pile of dried blood and guts at the bottom, groaning with pain, disgust, and all the emotions coursing through him-_

Rhys jerked out of the memory, blinking to find himself sitting in his car, not moving an inch. He swallowed and wiped sweat off his brow. He hadn't meant to get submersed in it so deeply.

_I need to just...get everything off my mind._

He started up the car and drove away. He decided there was no possible way to sleep after everything. He knew exactly where to go instead.


	10. Pandoracorn Piss

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is...something else. Idk what else to say about it. As always mind the new tags :)  
> EDIT: please be aware, there is a rather brief Rhys/OC moment this chapter. I'm moving this here from the tags because I've decided it's not actually enough to justify it showing up in the actual main rhys/oc tag on ao3

God, he _needed_ this was the first thought to run through Rhys’s mind. He stepped into the familiar club, breathing in the foggy, vapor-filled air with it's vaguely sweet aroma and twisting music. Rhys found his booth and slid into it. He ordered one of his favorites - Pandoracorn Piss. Not a flattering name, but then again, on Pandora, if a drink had one, it was probably because it was even shittier than normal. The Pandoracorn Piss was actually one of the few decent options in this place. It was served in a smooth wooden bow, the stuff itself a pinkish glowing goop. He drank at it, the swirl of dizzyingly sweet flavors flooding his taste buds. He moaned gratefully. Yeah, that hit the spot.

Rhys did his best to not think of anything, busying himself with his alcohol. He blinked when a new drink was sat on the table in front of him in a tall blue glass.

“Who’s this a courtesy of?” Rhys asked, barely containing his knowing smirk.

“There, sir,” the waiter said.

Rhys followed the gesture to see- wow, okay, an _interesting_ item at the counter. Male, but hot enough, he supposed. Especially if he drank some more.

Rhys turned back to the waiter. “And this came straight from the bartender, of course?” Rhys said carefully. Damned if he was getting drugged.

“Of course, sir."

“Thank you.”

The server left.

Rhys wasn’t too picky with genders. Although sometimes that changed, depending on the mood. Right now, Rhys was definitely in _a_ _mood_. What kind, he couldn’t be sure, but it was the kind that made him grab the drink and take a large swallow, trying to make a show of it. The drink was very sweet with a potent afterburn. Not too shabby.

A little spilled. Rhys saw eyebrows raise, but he ignored his own mistake. Instead, he nonchalantly wiped his mouth on his sleeve and gestured with his gloved hand. His attentive admirer made his way over. The man was obviously muscled, dressed in tight clothing.

“Sit,” Rhys said, wetting his lips and meeting dark eyes. The newcomer took up the space beside him, and Rhys inhaled sharply as a firm arm went around his waist.

“Hey, sexy.”

Rhys took another drink. “So, what should I call you?”

“Call me Dante… Or whatever tickles ya, _Rhys_.”

One problem with being well-known was that people tended to know your name long before you knew theirs, but Rhys was used to it at this point. It was...actually kind of ego-boosting, if he were honest.

He studied Dante, up and down, before deciding that yeah, this wasn’t bad. He had his lips suddenly seized in a hot, biting “kiss”. Rhys grunted. He hadn’t been expecting that, but he didn’t pull away. Dante tugged his lip before drawing back, swiping a thumb against Rhys’s throat.

“You know,” Dante said in a thick voice, “for being a CEO, you give off quite the bottom vibe.”

Rhys rolled his eyes, reaching for his drink. “I’m _verse_ , thank you,” he muttered. “And bottom doesn’t mean submissive,” he added. He gulped some more of the alcohol. Okay, so he might not be drunk enough for this. But he would get there. And then things would be fun.

“True,” Dante murmured in his ear. “I’m thinking…bratty bottom, though.” A hand squeezed his thigh.

Rhys met dark, amused eyes, recognizing the verbal trap. Whatever he said next would damn him. So, he opted not to say anything. He started to reach for what was left of the Pandoracorn Piss. Dante noticed and beat him to it, pressing it against his lips for him. Rhys figured the other wanted a bit of a show, so he indulged him, sliding out his tongue to lap up the rest of the liquid.

“God, bet you’re really good with that mouth, baby.”

Rhys knew he was hitting the liquor too hard, especially when he chased it with a gulp of Dante’s drink and Dante murmured an amused, “Whoa. Look at you. Trying to knock yourself out or something?”

But he couldn’t help it.

Rhys was desperate. He admitted that to himself. Not for a partner, of course. Several of the people in here would happily sleep with him. He was desperate for everything to fade to a dull buzz, for everything to stop being important. He just needed one mindless night.

Dante’s hand landed on his groin, but Rhys pushed it back. “Not yet,” he said. “Not until I tell you.”

“What, are you _that_ fast or something?”

“No,” Rhys said, “but you _obviously_ have no concept of _foreplay_ ,” he said in a condescending tone. He wrinkled his nose and sniffed. “Boring. Unoriginal. Why don’t you just leave if you aren’t going to be more interesting than my hand.” Rhys was starting to think he’d misjudged by letting this one over to his side. The looks were good, but the attitude sucked. Rhys’s patience was running thin.

But Dante smirked at him. “ _Brat_. But don’t worry. I’ll get you going.” Dante shoved a tongue into his mouth, prying fingers tugging on the V dip of Rhys's outfit. Dante pushed buttons open to expose more of Rhys's chest, thumbing at his nipples. “You’re so pretty. Like eye candy.”

Okay, so they were getting somewhere, _finally_. It’d taken long enough. And the influencers in his system were starting to catch up with him. Things were looking up. He should be wacked out enough for this soon to really get it going. Rhys was finally reaching that heady, pleasant, clouded state where senses became enhanced  _and_ dulled at the same time.

“T-touch me,” Rhys hissed, impatience and arousal beating out his agitation. “Now-“

The hand returned to his groin, squeezing him through his pants.

Rhys threw his head back, moaning as blood rushed into his lower extremities. Finally. Touch. Nice, sensual, but ultimately meaningless touch. Dante's mouth went for his neck, sucking, and Rhys melted against that feeling.

Unbidden, the memory of Jack close to his side rushed through his brain, the feeling of Jack's tongue against his neck. He shuddered, hard. He could almost hear Jack's voice in his ears-

“That’s cute, _Rhysie_.”

The rush of anger hit him like a freight train. “Don't call me that!” Rhys snarled, gripping the man's hair with his cybernetic arm, yanking him away and leaning in towards Dante’s face. The man’s hands went to his metal wrist. “Don't ever fucking call me that!” He yelled.

“What the fuck’s your problem, man!?” The other demanded, tugging. “Let go-“

Rhys growled, releasing Dante and shoving him back. “Get _away_ from me, asshole.”

Fuck. _Fuck_. What _was_ wrong with him? Everything was so... _wrong_ right now. Wrong. He felt all strung out and twisted up at the same time.  _Why?_ He just wanted to crawl out of his own skin and scream into the void. He wanted to throw his drink and tear his hair out.

Dante leaned back in, fists clenching. Rhys started, but he bristled quickly. Dante seemed to want to say something, but was hesitating. After a bit, his expression brightened. “Oh, I get it, _brat_. You wanna fight a little, huh?” Dante shoved him back against the soft leather seating, gripping his wrists and forcing a kiss onto his mouth. Rhys was tiring of this. He would flexed his cybernetic arm, ready to do some real damage this time.

A large hand clamped onto Dante's shoulder, ripping him back and flinging him to the floor.

Rhys stared in shock.

“Leave before I blow your friggin’ head off, bandit,” growled the hand’s owner.

Rhys stared at Jack like he was a ghost. Jack just stared at Dante.

Rhys reflected that he must be dreaming. There was no way Jack was here right now.

He pinched himself, but it did nothing.

Not dreaming?

This couldn't be happening _again_ , for crying out loud! Why the fuck didn't Jack ever leave him alone?!

Dante took Jack in as he stood up. A grin spread across his face. “Thought you were a bouncer for a sec… Heh, you can’t be the _real_ Handsome Jack. He’s dead. You one of those _doubles_? Better get out. Nobody likes that face around here, and horsin’ around won’t win you any friends. Either way, you don’t have to get involved. Me and…my _friend_ here are just having a bit of fun. Aren’t we, Rhys?”

Rhys opened his mouth to dispute that but Jack shoved a gun in Dante’s face. Rhys looked away hurriedly. “This real enough for you, idiot?” he heard Jack say. The gun went off. The noise was loud and jarring even with the music in the air. Rhys felt blood spatter on the side of his face and in his hair, his ears left ringing. People screamed and ran for the exit, leaving the club barren in minutes.

Rhys was glad he had adverted his eyes. He didn’t need to see anything that’d make him hurl all over himself. Not because of Dante's demise – he couldn’t care less, really - but brains were still not his favorite thing to see all over the place.

Rhys saw blood on his drink glass. He wiped it off with his glove, nose wrinkled.

Jack blew off the tip of his gun before holstering it. He barely seemed to notice the commotion he’d caused. “What an asshole, huh?” he commented lightly.

Rhys dampened a napkin with the sweat on the drink glass and scrubbed at the blood on his cheek and temple. “What the hell are you doing here?” He asked. He was too bewildered. If he didn’t know better, he’d think Jack was some demon that could be summoned just by thinking or talking about him.

“We didn’t finish our conversation, cupcake,” Jack said, slipping into the booth uninvited, claiming Dante's former spot. He smelled metallic. _Jeezus_. Rhys was not in the headspace for this. He risked a look at Jack, confirming his suspicion that Jack was painted in fresh blood. “By the way, looks like that disgusting bandit left a mark on your neck. Like an overgrown mosquito. Gross.” Jack made an exaggerated gagging sound.

“Look, Jack. Thanks for the help, but...now’s not really a good time. Can we finish this later…?”

“Ooooh my god, stop using that friggin’ excuse, Rhysie. Driving me nuts. Besides, I didn’t come into this cesspit just to be told it was all for nothing, kitten. What even _is_ this place? Looks like a sex club for criminals. Pretty sure someone was gettin' nailed by the entrance... Your tastes are...terrible. Just terrible. It’s makin’ me feel sorry for you.”

“Who said anything about tastes,” Rhys replied and laughed. “Can’t taste much of anything r-“ he hiccuped. “-right now. S’cuse me.”

Jack also laughed. “Wooow, you are totally bombed, cupcake. It’s hilarious.”

Rhys sighed. “How’d you even find me, anyway.”

“As if it’s hard to find the Atlas CEO. But truthfully...I saw your car here on the way to Atlas HQ... Next question.”

“And...since _when_ did we not finish our conversation? Seemed finished to me.”

“Well, for one, you asked me a question, then didn’t give me time to answer.”

“Question…?” Rhys honestly couldn’t remember.

“Keep up, Rhysie. You asked if you mattered.”

“Oh, right.” Rhys remembered now. The question had seemed important before, but he didn't know why. Now it just sounded silly. “Funny question, right?” He chuckled. “I’m just… _so_ funny. Haha. Coulda...been a comedian...”

“Listen, you idiot. I didn’t know how to answer before, because I hadn’t really thought of it. But I did think about it, after you left. And now I know how to answer.”

Rhys stared at Jack, trying to figure out where this was going. “Ooookay? And?”

Jack put a hand on Rhys’s shoulder, forcing their eyes to lock onto each other. “You did.”

Rhys shifted back, uncomfortable at the sudden lack of distance between them.

“I know, I know,” Jack was saying, “it’s a lot to take in-“

“Uh huh, that’s nice, Jack. You should probably just go now before someone sees you in this den-”

Jack scowled and pushed on. “We were _partners_ , Rhys. I trusted you. You trusted me. That shouldn’t have changed... I realize now you weren’t _trying_ to betray me… And yes, we had a little, eh, misunderstanding about the whole, _argh_ , venting everyone into space thing-”

“ _Little_?” Rhys echoed.

“Fine. Big. _Big_ misunderstanding. But, as I was saying, we should put it behind us and look to the future where better things are waiting.”

Rhys laughed again, a little less loosely. “What if...there’s more _misunderstandings_.”

“There won’t be.”

“No, that’s not good enough,” Rhys said, sitting up straighter, his brain sobering more, “I need to know you’re gonna like...stop yourself if you ever get the urge to kill me again. I can’t just be buddy-buddy again if I’m somewhat expecting a bullet in the head. Like uh…Dante over there.”

“Who?” Jack asked. “You mean that bandit. Wow what a stupid name.” Jack narrowed his eyes at Rhys. “Come _on_ , kid. I’m not gonna kill you. How do I convince you of that?”

Rhys clenched his drink in hand, holding Jack’s intense stare without flinching. “Promise me you’ll give me the benefit of the doubt the next time you think I’m going against you.”

Jack’s expression didn’t change. "Rhys-"

"No, I'm serious. Please."

Jack shook his head, looking exasperated, but relented. “Fine. I will.”

“But do you _promise_.”

“Yes...Rhys. I _promise_.”

 “Promise _what_?”

Jack’s eyes rolled at the ceiling. He sighed. “I, Handsome Jack...Pandora’s greatest and most _underappreciated_ hero...do solemnly swear to give you the benefit of the doubt should something like...our previous big misunderstanding happen again. So that I don’t kill you. Happy?”

Rhys grinned, feeling foggier than before even as relief went through him. “Hmm…” Rhys felt a bit playful. He raised his cybernetic arm, and crooked his pinkie. “But what about a pinkie promise?” He crooned. “Everyone knows that’s the only real way to make a promise.”

Jack took only a second before wrapping his pinkie around Rhys’s. “Yes yes, whatever. Pinkie promise. Just how drunk are you, anyway? You better frickin’ remember this conversation in the morning.”

“Don’ worry. It’s all recorded if I don’t.” Rhys sighed. "Wow, you’re quite serious, huh? Guess I’ll just have to trust you now... _partner_.” He giggled. “Sound like…a cowboy saying it.”

“You are ruining this moment, Rhys.”

“What? I learn from the best.” Rhys giggled some more. "And I thought you liked...cow...people..."

"Definitely ruined." Jack looked annoyed. “What’s so damned funny anyway?"

“You! You’re just...just really funny, you know that?” His giggles turned to full on laughing. “You come in here, shoot some dude who I sorta-maybe-not-really was thinking of banging then say ‘ _oh, I promise not to try to kill you again, Rhys!’_ And then, covered in blood, you just-” He guffawed more. “Just sit in this booth chillin’ like it’s a Tuesday night on the town! And that’s just in _one_ night! It doesn’t even compare to the stuff you pulled…last night!” Rhys frowned. “Wait. Whoa…was that really just last night? Feels like a week ago…”

“So, uh, you still haven’t told me just how much you’ve drank?”

Rhys laughed more. “Not enough for this goddamned dream.”

“Dream?”

“Yeah. Everytime I close my eyes and open them, god do you just- just show up! It’s great, fantastic, you’re like...a magician! You appear out of thin air. You know what I think? I think I’m still in that coma after touching the alien symbol and none of this is real. It’s just one long dream… Pretty realistic though, but… It’s the only way this makes sense! Wait…” he gasped. “What if… it’s not a dream… holy _shit_.”

Jack leaned closer. “What the _hell_ , cupcake? Did that bandit hit you in the head or something?”

“I don’t…think so…” Rhys blinked a few times. “Anyway, you can uh...go now. If I need you…I’ll just, _think_ you into existence. Like usual.”

“Nah, nah, I’m not done, you drunken idiot. I also need to know if you’re coming to the demo or not. You said you weren’t, but it seemed kinda...in the air.”

“Yes. Fine. I’ll go,” Rhys grunted, throwing himself forward to lean on the table. “Why not? Nothing’s real and nothing matters!” He just wanted Jack gone. Anything to escape the proximity between them. It was doing things to his already hazy brain.

“Great.”

“Yep. I’ll see you then. Bye!”

“You could go first,” Jack suggested. "Since you're so clearly out of it. Someone should make sure you get out alright."

“But I got… _business_ here. I’m a _business man_. Let me do...my _business_.”

Jack dramatically looked around. “Uh…doesn’t look like anyone’s here, Mr. Businessman. You need a ride back to the Atlas compound? You’re pretty wasted.”

“I’m good!” Rhys said cheerfully. "Thank you and see you later!"

Jack shifted suddenly. Rhys felt it through the seat cushion. It felt like Jack had moved closer. “Would you really have banged that idiot? I mean...there's bad taste...and then there's... _no_ taste.”

Rhys blinked. When was this going to end? Why wouldn’t Jack just _go_? “Yes, I was,” he said. "I mean, no, I wasn't. Or maybe I was? I don’t know.”

“How do you not _know_?”

"I...don't remember? That was...like...forever ago."

"Oh my god-"

“Why do you care so much?” Rhys whined, growing impatient. “Look, can you leave already so I can just...relax?”

“Uh huh. Looks like you were doing plenty of _relaxing_ before I got here.” Jack lay a hand on his shoulder. “And why so eager to see me gone, Rhysie? ‘Fraid of the rumors about Hyperion and Atlas getting cozy? I mean, no one’s even here…”

Rhys said nothing. He buried his head in his arms. Maybe this problem would go away if he ignored it.

“Or…” Jack’s tone dropped. “Is it _something_ else?”

Rhys said nothing. He was too out of it. Jack seemed to be insinuating something, but whatever that was, it was lost on him. Maybe it had to do with the vault?

“Oh, _okay_ , are you ignoring me now, princess?” Jack pressed closer.

_Yes._

Rhys really was trying at least.

“Ooor… did you pass out? Well, that’s not safe. What if someone just...took advantage of you or something?”

There was a pause.

“Kiddo? Come on, we should just...get you home or something. You look like shit. And I can’t even see your dweeb face right now, so I’m just going off that mess on your head.” Jack shook him. “Rhyssieee, time to wake up!”

“ _Jack_ ,” Rhys groaned, sitting up. “I’m not passed out, and I’m not going home! Could you _please_ leave now? I’m trying to just have a mindless night, okay? Surely you can understand that. _Pleeease_.”

“Heh, it’s cute when you beg,” Jack commented. “What is this stuff anyway?” He grabbed Rhys’s drink and took a gulp.

“Come on, man. That was _rude_!”

“Wow this tastes like horsecrap. You really need better tastes, not just in partners, but in drinks- _wow-_ ”

“Says the man who banged a hooker in clown makeup more than once and then called it a relationship.” It took about three seconds before Rhys realized that might not be the best thing to say to Handsome Jack.

Jack stiffened. “ _Excuse_ me?”

“Nothin’,” Rhys muttered, trying to reclaim his drink by reaching mindlessly for it. “Jack-”

Jack’s hand twisted into his hair, yanking him closer to Jack’s glaring face. Rhys yelped in surprise. “Whaa- le-go!”

“Say that to my face, pumpkin,” Jack said with a tight, angry expression.

Rhys stared at Jack for a moment, then snorted. Was it bad he wasn’t even bothered or scared at this point? Probably. But honestly, Jack’s reaction was funny as hell. “I mean...am I wrong?”

Jack’s grip tightened. Blunt nails scraped Rhys’s scalp, and a thrill ran through his entire body. He should’ve felt fear, or anger, or at the very least, caution. He felt none of those things. He felt… _excited_. Like he was tapping into something dangerous and powerful. “You’ve got quite a mouth on you, Rhysie,” Jack said at length, loosening his hold. “You really need to install a common-sense filter or something in that computer brain of yours so you can learn when to _shut the hell up_.”

“You aren’t my boss,” Rhys replied, “a-anymore.”

“Startin’ to understand why that idiot was over here. You’re just beggin’ for a rough handling, huh, kiddo?”

“What are you-“ Rhys started, but then Jack slammed him down, pinning him against table. Rhys gasped, that same thrill going through him, but stronger, like a shockwave. “J-Jack-”

“I said, shut up!” Jack growled, tangling a hand in Rhys’s hair. “God, you make me just wanna…wanna…” He yanked Rhys backward as quickly as he’d shoved him down. Rhys’s back slammed against the booth. Jack still held his hair to keep his head pulled back, as if his whole goal here was to expose Rhys’s throat.

But Rhys was getting mad, the thrill from before fading. He tried to reach the hand in his hair. “Let go!” he snapped. “What are you doing?!”

Jack moved in and _bit_ Rhys’s throat, hard, using his full mouth like a wolf. For a weird, panicked moment, Rhys thought Jack might try to tear it out. Jack climbed onto him, straddling his waist, teeth never leaving his neck. Jack scraped his teeth inward, before settling on a fixed point against his throat.

Rhys gasped, his whole body tensing as Jack applied more force there. The feeling was warm, wet, painful, too much and not enough. Something heavier than the thrill from before settled in his gut. Rhys bucked up, not sure if he was trying to throw Jack off or feel more of the other holding him down. He swallowed a heavy moan at the building ache.

His skin broke. Rhys couldn’t hold back the cry of pain. Jack’s grip tightened so much, it was a wonder he hadn’t ripped any hair out, his other hand bruising Rhys’s shoulder. Jack lifted his head, looking down at Rhys with blown, mismatched eyes. Blood glistened on his lips. He looked quite manic. Rhys blinked up at him.

Rhys finally regained some self-awareness, focusing on the warm wetness against his neck. “What are you doing?!” He yelped. He forced his metallic arm between their bodies, and with all his power, shoved at Jack. Not that it accomplished much. There wasn’t much room to push.

“That was for your shit talking, you little shit,” Jack hissed, holding on to him despite Rhys’s pushing. “And also to cover up that disgusting hickey with something more worthy. You let that bandit mark you up and shove his tongue down your throat. I can fuckin _smell_ him on you! You really were gonna just let that trash do whatever the hell he wanted to you, huh?!”

“Why the fuck do you care?!” Rhys snapped. What gave Jack the right to fucking _bite_ him like that, hickey or no? “In case you didn’t notice, _what me and that so-called bandit were doing_ didn’t fucking involve _you_.”

Jack glared at him, jaw working, “You like when people force themselves on you, cupcake? Is that why your dick is so hard right now? Gettin' off to the memory of that that idiot eating your lips off?”

Rhys had to pause. Shit, he _was_ hard right now. He could feel it pressing against Jack’s pelvis. “Fuck you!” He spat

Rhys tried to slip away from Jack, but he didn’t have a good angle. He drew his legs up, trying to push Jack off sideways. He probably looked more like a flailing fish out of water than someone with any dignity left.

Jack didn’t seem to have any trouble staying in place. “Where ya tryin’ ta _go_ , Rhysie?” he growled, sounding viciously playful. He leaned in, elbows on the headrest on either side of Rhys’s head as he stared at him. “Thought you had... _business_ here.”

“Ah, go back to hell, Jack!” Rhys kicked out, snarling. “I’m _leaving_.”

“Doesn’t look like it to me,” Jack said, grinning. “You’re like…a limp spaghetti noodle right now. Well, except for your dick. I guess this makes us even for our little _moment_  in the broken car in the snowstorm, huh?”

“Jack,” Rhys growled, forcing himself to hold still and meet Jack’s gaze. “Get. The. Fuck. Off. Of. Me. _Right. Now_.”

A few moments passed.

Jack’s mood shifted abruptly. He leaned back, hands raised, “Alright, alright, gee, whatever you want, princess. You’re so damned uptight right now.” He slid off of Rhys.

Free, Rhys flopped out of the booth and onto the floor. He stumbled to his feet as fast as he could manage. His head swam dizzily and he leaned against the wall, panting and confused. What the hell had just _happened_? His head was too muddy to try and figure this out.

He could hear Jack laughing behind him, and he just wanted that voice gone. “You look like a dying bird, kiddo. Wow, that is _not_ safe. I mean, it’s hilarious, but definitely not safe. You’re gonna get into a wreck or something.”

Rhys stood there for a moment as he tried to regain some sense. In spite of everything, his dick was still hard, his mind fuzzy, and about a million phantom sensations were thrumming through his body along with the fresh pain in his neck. He forced himself to move, making his way to the back, to his reserved room. He let the door lock behind him. He took long enough to kick off his shoes and dropped onto the bed on his knees. He undid his pants, grabbed his erection and pumped it with swift strokes. He couldn’t help the way his brain recalled Jack on top of him, teeth in his neck, his weight and heat holding him down. He groaned, going harder against his own palm.

And then he was coming, moaning Jack’s name.

Rhys slumped forward and fell asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A.N. Aaand dumbass of the month award goes to Rhyyys!  
> I’m sorry. I know this keeps happening, but... I promise they will fuck one of these days… It’s just… I’m evil and like to drag things out. >;)


	11. Stop Pretending

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeaah I know April 1st isn't the best time to update something, but... I finally had time to work on this today so I did. And I got the new chapter finished! :D

“Rhys, what is going on with you?”

Rhys looked up, greeted with the familiar sight of Yvette approaching his desk.

She continued, “all those cryptic-ass messages you kept sending over the weekend…“ She shifted from foot to foot, clearly agitated. “Mind explaining just how joking your ‘if I’m not back in a few hours I’m probably dead’ message was supposed to be? Because it wasn’t very funny.”

“It, no…” Rhys scratched his head. “It’s…a long story.”

“Well, you said you would explain today, so explain. Why did you put Atlas on alert?”

“I…” Rhys leaned against his desk. “Look… On Friday, I received a weird message.”

She folded her arms, saying nothing.

Rhys took that as a sign to go on. “Apparently, some…people have information on me- erm, _Atlas_ \- that they shouldn’t.”

She frowned. “Who?”

“From…what I can tell, they’re an old Atlas enemy.” It wasn’t a complete lie, exactly, he thought. It was just omitting some truth. “They go by Followers of the Azure Sun, and they’re pretty obsessed with Vaults.”

“Who isn’t?” Yvette said dryly.

“Fair enough. But they…Come from Tantalus and have their government by the balls. Or what’s left of it. So… They actually have power. Enough to worry about. Slightly.” He didn’t need it to sound worse than it actually was. This situation _could_ be contained, just as soon as Rhys found the information leak.

“How come I’ve never heard of them before now.”

“They normally wouldn’t come this far out into the borderlands, and apart from the residents of Tantalus, most people haven’t heard of them.” Rhys waved his hand, as if dismissing something. “Anyway, they demanded information on the Vault on Iphus, so they obviously don’t know _everything_ yet, but we have to be careful.”

“Okay,” she said with a nod. “Send me what you have on them, and I’ll try to help…”

“Of course.”

“Sooo… I hate to say the obvious here, but what if Jack-“

“It wasn’t Jack,” Rhys leaned back. “Yeah, yeah, I know. That was my first thought, too, but I hacked his stuff and it’s… Well, he has more information than I’d like, but not what he would’ve needed to sell me out.”

“Who else could’ve done it?”

“I don’t know. Some of the information they have, I’ve never shared with any other person, not even with you. No offense.”

“None taken.”

He shook his head. “Jack thinks someone did some digging and found shit to use… But it just doesn’t feel right. Either way, I intend to find out.” He frowned. “And when I do they’re skag food. I’ll have all the best programs, bots, and people on the task. That includes you.”

“You let Jack in on this?” She asked incredulously. “Pfft, so much for being careful with him.”

He glared. “Look, I kind of had to let him know why I hacked his computer.”

“Oh my god, you _told_ him you _hacked his computer_?!”

Okay, in retrospect, that did sound pretty bad. “I mean…yeah…”

“Are you _trying_ to get killed?”

“No! I was trying to confront him!”

“That sounded more like a yes.”

“Just let it go,” Rhys groaned.

“Fine, but we need to stop this leak before it gets out of hand. Asap. I still wouldn’t write Jack off completely, but…it does seem unlikely he could do this.”

“Yes.” Rhys was about to turn to his computer, content to let the conversation end, but Yvette’s expression changed. He paused. She smirked. “Whaat?” He asked, suspicious. “Can I help you?”

“What’s with the scarf? Someone leave some fun marks?” She wiggled her brows teasingly.

“Yvette!” Yes, Rhys had on a scarf, an article of clothing obviously warmer than needed as Pandora could get pretty hot in the day. He didn’t feel like explaining what had happened to his neck. It’d been an impressive bite that’d bruised and bled that night. It still wasn’t healed and probably wouldn’t be for a good week or so. In all honesty, he was trying not to think about _that_ night at all. It was something he still couldn’t wrap his head around, equal parts embarrassing and unsettling and never-again. And yet, he still hadn’t deleted it’s record from his memory banks. But he would. Eventually. Just as soon as he got less busy.

Yvette tilted her head. “I’m curious.”

Rhys sighed. “Well… It- it isn’t pretty.”

Her eyebrows raised. “What? Is it really shameful?” She chuckled.

He winced, heat in his ears. “No! No, it’s just…” He sighed again, this time with as much exasperation as possible.

She raised her hands in a placating way. “Alright, alright, Rhys. I mean, if you aren’t comfortable sharing...” 

Rhys decided to bite the bullet and tugged the scarf away.

Her eyebrows seemed to raise even more. “Damn. That’s…impressive. And _horrifying_. Are you sure you didn’t try to get too friendly with a skag while you were drunk?”

Rhys rolled his eyes. “May as well have…”

“Who did it?”

“Some…” He trailed off, fingers twiddling. “Some maniac at the club.”

“Yeah I gathered that much. You should be more careful who you make bedroom eyes at.”

"You don't say..." He situated the scarf back in place. She just shrugged. “Anyway, we’ve got work to do.” He was glad when Yvette left it alone and agreed.

* * *

Rhys followed the scientists into Research and Development. Most of R&D was situated underground. There were no windows, just long, sleek, silver halls with glowing gold and red LEDs accenting its pathways, their light mostly drowned out in the white fluorescents on the ceiling. Most of the rooms were hidden away behind automatic, steel doors scattered throughout the halls.

“Dr. Grace,” Rhys greeted upon reaching the cybernetics division and spotting the lead scientist.

“It’s a pleasure to have you here, Mr. Rhys, sir,” Dr. Grace said, obviously preening. Rhys decided to ignore it. He must have some good news, so let him preen. Rhys couldn’t argue results. “Are you ready to see our latest progress?” Dr. Grace said, practically vibrating. He gestured an assistant over.

Rhys paused and deliberated for a few seconds. Right. Well… “Actually, before we start, I wanted to speak with you personally.”

Brows raised. “Oh- of course, sir.”

He motioned the other to follow him a few paces from the other scientists in the room. Rhys put what he hoped was a consoling hand on the man’s shoulder. He quieted his tone. “I...I wanted to apologize for being a dick the last time we spoke.”

Dr. Grace’s eyes widened. “I- no. I should be the one apologizing for sticking my nose where I shouldn’t have.”

Well, that was something at least. “Look, I’m putting it behind us,” Rhys said. “Not that I want you to make a habit of doing stuff like that. Still, it doesn’t negate the fact that I…could and _should_ have handled our conversation…more professionally.”

Dr. Grace looked odd for a moment, before smiling, wide. “I appreciate it, sir.”

“Seriously, though.” Rhys grasped Dr. Grace’s other shoulder with his robotic hand, tightening it, looking him dead in the eye. “Don’t ever do anything like that again, or I won’t be so forgiving next time. Got it?”

Dr. Grace stiffened but nodded, eyes dancing away in what Rhys could only guess was nervousness. “Of course, sir,” Dr. Grace muttered.

“Great!” Rhys smiled and gave the scientist a hearty clap before stepping back. “Now let’s see what you’re hiding down here.” Rhys gestured broadly at the hallways.

“Yes, sir.” Dr. Grace lead the way with the assistant, who was either very happy, excited, or anxious. Or maybe all three. They kept darting glances at Rhys the whole time, saying nothing. It was to be expected. “This is our progress,” said Dr. Grace as they stepped into a side room.

Rhys almost stopped in his tracks but forced himself to keep moving. A large cylinder of glass was positioned in the back of the room with several machines around it. Inside it lay a skeleton shaped mannequin with multiple wires attached here and there. They ran out and down, cascading along the torso and arms with a thicker one flowing down the spine. It looked reminiscent of every art Rhys had ever seen of a-

“Full human nervous system,” Dr. Grace said, “as promised.” There was something like pride in his voice. “Say goodbye to the clunkier cybernetics of yesterday. This...this is the most refined technology in the _galaxy_.”

Rhys approached the implants. His Echo Eye powered up to run a scan. Of course, the team would be sending up the full, written report later, but he wanted to record some raw information to parse  and organize on his own. The Echo Eye stored the info for later, highlighting some areas of note for him. He closed out the HUD.

“You got this from _Hyperion_?” Rhys turned around, not bothering to hide the fact he was impressed.

“Well,” Dr. Grace said, rubbing the back of his head, “ _I_ got their early prototypes. This is simply where it all lead.”

Rhys put a hand on his chin in thought. “It would require a very skilled surgeon to correctly implant this. Full implants can be unpleasant, as I understand.”

“Yes. But now doable. And my team is getting with Dr. Chen’s team and we’re putting together a plan on the best way to do it.”

The next hour or so was spent discussing the model and its potential future. Rhys learned a lot, and while it still needed some work, he was impressed with the overall report. Perhaps within the year, they could even distribute it on the market. Test and trials were needed first, but Rhys suspected it wouldn’t take too long, since they’d built off Hyperion’s old, already advanced implants. While more refined, the newest prototype was still somewhat similar. Not enough to cause legal disputes, but enough to know they would work.

Rhys wondered if that would annoy Jack. Jack probably wouldn’t notice. Hyperion had dozens of markets. Jack probably didn't even remember them all.

 _Jack._ Rhys ignored the phantom twinge in the skin of his neck. He felt like he was forgetting something...

Oh right. Jack’s demonstration was this week. He held back a sigh at remembering it. “Thank you, Doctor. That will be all for now.” He left the room, trying and failing not to think about Jack and what that maniac might have planned. His fingers brushed his throat, and he shook his head, trying to clear the heat that'd settled in his cheeks.

* * *

“Maybe I shouldn’t go,” Rhys complained to Yvette as he combed his hair. She’d come over to hang out before he left.

The day for Jack’s demonstration had arrived too quickly for Rhys, and he was agitated. For  the most part, he hadn’t had a lot of interactions with Jack since the awkward night at the club. And those they’d had were solely through the Echo, brief and rushed. They’d both grown quite busy. Rhys was focusing most of his time on Atlas, and he was sure Jack was doing something similar with Hyperion.

In fact, Hyperion had finally sent more workers to Opportunity. As expected, now that Jack had other people to pester – and probably put his dick in, Rhys reflected sourly – Rhys wasn’t much needed anymore.

Not that Rhys cared. Nope. Not one bit. Who’d want to have sex with Handsome Jack anyway? Definitely not him! Only a complete moron would want that!

His comb shattered in his cybernetic hand. He glared and tossed it in the trash, knocking pieces of plastic from his hair.

“Jeeze,” Yvette remarked, looking up from her Echo. “A little tense there? I can practically hear your brain exploding.”

Rhys took off down the hallway, going for another comb. “I mean, would Jack even bother if the tables were reversed here?” he shot back from in front of the restroom mirror. He left the door open to ease conversation. “I- I doubt he even cares. He only pestered so much before because he didn’t have anyone else to focus his manic attention on. He probably wouldn’t even notice if I didn’t go.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure.”

“Oh?” Rhys said. His volume increased. “Then why- _why_ haven’t I gotten a _single message_ all day from him? Or week for that matter? Quite unusual.”

“Missing the attention?”

“Nope,” Rhys popped the word with his lips. “It’s kind of nice, like getting a vacation.”

“Maybe you should message him first?”

Rhys groaned in annoyance. “Then it’ll just _remind_ him and allow him to play everything off.”

“He probably assumes everything is still on. So, he _will_ notice if you don’t go.”

“Ugh. Like I _care_.” Rhys finished with the newest comb and left the mirror. He went to the living area where Yvette sat at the table. “Besides, you- you’re missing the point here! Jack is a chronic nagger.”

“Then don’t go if you feel so strongly about it.” She said it as if things were that easy. “It’s not like he’s lonely anymore, so you don’t even have to feel bad this time.”

For some reason, that only annoyed Rhys further. He shook his head and flopped down in a seat across from her.

“Also, Rhys, I really do recommend moving on if you aren’t going to bone him. Broody isn’t a good look on you.”

Rhys rolled his eyes. “Haha, Yvette. So funny. As usual.” He frowned, checking the time. He still had over an hour. “Unfortunately, as much as I’d _rather_ stay home, I’ve gotta see this demonstration firsthand. Even if I would _love_ to give Jack the middle finger right now, Atlas needs to know what’s going on.”

“Glad it’s decided, then.” Yvette stood up. “Now, let’s see if you’ve learned anything about fashion since the last time you had a date with Handsome Jack.”

“ _Yvette_ -!“

“Come on, stop whining. I'm helping. Again. Really you should be paying me for my time."

* * *

Rhys really did try not to fuss over his outfit. He did. Even Yvette was growing impatient by the time he’d tried on the fourth combination. They’d kept arguing and trading pieces out and around. He knew something was wrong when she finally relented to a dark form fitting type of outfit that had stiff shoulders and thick sleeves, muttering about his “ridiculous look”. The suit was fine! It accented his shoulders and the colors weren’t too bad. Gray and gold. It came with a collared overcoat and a red tie. 

He nodded at his reflection. It would have to do. He said his byes to Yvette and left for Opportunity. He wasn’t sure what he was expecting, but it set him on edge.

When he arrived at Opportunity, there were even more people than he was expecting. So many. A full parking lot and several cars parked along the roads in every available space. It took Rhys an annoying minute to find a parking space, almost on the bridge it was so far back. Groups of obvious corporate assholes in suits walked along the sidewalks everywhere, and in their midst, a handful of loaders. Surveyors soared through the air, snapping photos of everything.

Opportunity looked better than ever, lights shining bright, almost all damage erased. It looked exactly like the city in the posters.

Rhys stood on the walk, baffled and half-wondering where the hell all these people had come from. Hyperion? If so, they’d sent a small army.

“Hey, bro!” Called a voice. He turned around.

“Vaughn?” He asked.

Vaughn strolled over. “Yeah, I heard you were attending this little thing, so…” He hadn’t changed much, save for wearing something that vaguely resembled a dress shirt, and it wasn’t even stained with blood! Rhys sometimes had trouble recalling the Vaughn from accounting he’d first befriended. Vaughn looked so different now, something that really stood out now that he was in stark contrast to all these suits. Vaughn shrugged. “Besides, most of Helios is here tonight, so I tagged along anyway.”

“Oh. Well, you could’ve messaged.”

“Eh, I could’ve, but honestly…I forgot to.”

“Any idea who all these people are?” Rhys looked around.

“I don’t know but word spread pretty far. Apparently, people came from all over because of the rumors that Jack is indeed alive!”

“That…would make sense.” Well, it had been a matter of time. Jack was no longer a secret. Great.

“Speaking of Jack…”

“Huh?”

Vaughn grinned. “Bro, are you in need a bodyguard against Handsome Jack’s _unwanted advances_?” He teased, elbowing Rhys. “I’m getting pretty good at throwing a punch now!”

“Seriously?” Rhys said, neck burning. “Look, we… Jack and I talked it over. Everything’s fine now… It’s all in the past.”

Vaughn’s eyebrows shot up. “Really?” He asked. “That was quick.”

“Yeah, turns out he was just…uh…” He glared at the memory of the conversation, “… _joking_.”

“Wow that’s…dickish.”

“Yeah. When _isn’t_ he, though?”

“Touché. Well, that’s great then, bro.” Vaughn said but hesitated as he searched Rhys’s expression. “Right? You said you didn’t-”

“Yeah, it is great!” Rhys said with forced cheer.

Vaughn stared at him uncertainly. "Okay, is there-"

“Look who made it!” interrupted a loud voice.

 _“Here we go,”_ Rhys mouthed before turning to Handsome Jack. That hadn’t taken long. It was almost like the man had watched out for him or something. Maybe Jack truly had been too busy to message. Whatever. He wasn’t going to worry about it. He realized something was off though. There was tension in Jack’s shoulders. His brow sat even heavier than normal.

“Hey, kitten,” he said with a smile that came across far more predatory than friendly. There was a dark glint to his eyes, a manic energy in his step. It was enough to put Rhys on edge all over again. “Glad you _made it_.” He didn’t sound so glad. “Was beginning to think you weren’t gonna show.” He laughed like he was trying to joke, but the sound came across harsh to Rhys’s ears.

Okay. So Rhys just had to be calm. Someone here had probably pissed Jack off and Jack still hadn’t gotten over it. Angering Jack was an easy thing to do, especially when the number of nearby dumbasses had increased exponentially.

Jack turned to look at Vaughn, brow furrowing. “I really hope this isn’t a plus one, because- Oh wait, oh wait, I remember _him_! It’s Ole Iron Abs! Dude, I have so much respect for your abs! Like first glance, NERD, second glance, ABS!” He said, shoving Vaughn playfully.

“Oh, thanks!” Vaughn said with a somewhat-nervous-sounding laugh. “I work hard on them.” So much for being a bodyguard against Jack, Rhys thought with amusement.

“Yeah, you do! Although I see you’ve lost the nerd glasses, kiddo. Decided to go for the ole slick contact lenses? And the beard’s a nice touch!”

“I didn’t really need the glasses,” Vaughn admitted. “I mean, I did for my accounting job. They helped handle the numbers and stuff, like a less fancy Echo Eye. But just for everyday stuff, I see fine.”

“Whoa, the nerd who isn’t as nerdy as he _seems_!” Jack glanced back at Rhys. “Same could be said for you, Rhysie, at least until you open that stuttering pie hole! Anyway, kiddos, the main event is in one hour at the auditorium. Make sure you get a good seat. It’s gonna be _quite a show_.” His voice had dropped almost to a purr.

"R-right." Rhys looked around again. “This... feels more like a party than a demo.”

“Oh yeah, glad you noticed! Isn’t it great? Why do demo’s gotta be all boring and serious? I asked. And the answer was, _they don't!_ Just wait until we get to the _fireworks_.”

“Sounds fun. Uh, I imagine they’re serving drinks at the bar?” Rhys was trying his best to get away.

“Heheheh, yeah they are.” Whatever weird edge was in Jack’s voice only increased.

“Neat, that’s where I’m going,” Rhys said, wincing at a distracting ache making itself known in his arm. He’d forgone the painkillers tonight for exactly this reason. He started to leave.

Jack grabbed his cybernetic arm, grip tight. Rhys found his breath catching in his throat when Jack leaned in. His breath smelled of alcohol. So maybe Jack was a bit tipsy right now. Great, he didn’t want to deal with tipsy Jack tonight. “Don’t wander too far, babe,” Jack whispered in his ear, lips so close he could _feel_ them. “I’ve got a surprise for _you_ specifically.”

“Oh ummm…cool?” Rhys shifted away as much as he could. He felt a strange, tight feeling in his gut, but he ignored it.

“Attaboy,” Jack said, releasing and patting him on the back. “Go get wasted if ya want. It’s a _party_!” With that, he walked away.

Honestly, the prospect was looking even more and more tempting.

“I’m just going to pretend I didn’t see that,” Vaughn commented in a forced light tone. “Anyway, he seems a little…murdery,”

“Well, I’m leaving as soon as the demo’s over.” Rhys said, face burning. “So we’ll just have to make it until then.” He rubbed his jaw. “Look, I need to knock back a few drinks for this thing. Maybe you could go save us seats or something?”

“Sure thing. I’m going to take a peak around first. Never been to Opportunity before and who knows when I’ll get this chance again."

“Great.”

* * *

The agony in his body was only growing. Not surprising, given the circumstances and noise. Rhys found the bar. The bar at least was classier and homier. Not like the dingey club he often visited at the Atlas complex. And the alcohol was good stuff too. Rhys sipped a potent, fruity mixture that had a soft gold glow to it. It was possibly the best drink he’d ever had, a nice flavor, a perfect bite. Rhys really hated that he had to forgo painkillers just to have a drink. But the things costed plenty of money anyway, so... Maybe skipping them from time to time wasn’t so bad.

Not that drinks here were cheap.

Whatever.

He half wondered if Jack would wind up killing anyone tonight. He certainly seemed in a mood to. _I wonder what_ _’_ _s got him so riled up. This party-demo-thing is for_ him _, after all._

It didn’t matter. Rhys was here to try and relax and have fun, though he decided he might need to drink a little quicker if he were to achieve either of those things.

Jack appeared a half hour later, not unexpected. He sat next to Rhys quite casually. Rhys was mostly through his second drink by then. Jack looked at Rhys’s glass, eyes narrowed. “The King’s Ransom eh? A little too sweet for me, but still, suits ya…” he hollered at the bartender and ordered a drink for himself. “Isn’t this place so much better than the little sex club you were at?”

“I mean, not if I’m trying to get laid,” Rhys said with a wry laugh.

Jack scoffed. “Yeah, right. As if people are lining up for you there either.” Rhys ignored that. Jack's drink arrived, and he took a large gulp. “So, you brought the little guy, huh? _Why_?”

Rhys blinked. “Who?”

“You know… Abs guy.”

“Oh, Vaughn?”

“Yeah, that name.”

“Why not?” Rhys asked. “And I didn’t _bring him_. He decided to show up.”

“ _Uh huh_.”

“Alright, what's with that tone?”

Jack side-eyed him. “I know you’re into dudes.”

“Oh…oh wait,” Rhys laughed. “Vaughn? You think I’m into Vaughn?” He laughed harder at the prospect. “Oooh my god now that’s a freakin hilarious thought!” He calmed himself after a moment of Jack’s lingering glare. “Dude, Vaughn’s my bro and has been since the moment I joined Hyperion. I don’t like him like _that_. Besides, he’s romance- and sex-repulsed," Rhys stated it in a matter-of-fact tone. He took a drink

“Hmm,” Jack replied, shifting, “kinda didn’t sense anything there, but who can tell?” His words seemed more of an acknowledgement than anything. Rhys could’ve swore his shoulders lost a bit of tension, though.

“Why do you care, anyway?”

“Just curious,” Jack said tersely. “Can’t I check in on my buddy?”

“I guess so,” Rhys said, feeling weird. “What about you? Why don’t you have a sexy babe hanging off your arm yet?”

“Oh, I’m sure there will be later,” Jack said with a laugh. “Besides, I uh... Haven’t really…found my type yet.”

“Uh huh, sure. Are you really so picky?”

“I have tastes. Unlike you.”

Rhys rolled his eyes. “Oooh no, no, no, I’m so not having this conversation again.”

“Smart. Because I might have to shoot you this time.”

Rhys wasn’t sure if that was a joke or not. “What’s got you in such a mood, anyway? You’ve been wound up like fishing wire on a reel since I got here.”

“The board’s here,” Jack growled, hand turning into a fist on the counter. “I can’t fucking stand them. I just wanna strangle every last one of those assholes.”

Oh. That made sense. "Are you going to?" Rhys asked. "Strangle them?"

"Maybe. The night's still young."

They sat there for awhile before Jack looked at his watch. “Oh man. Look at the time! We’re gonna be late for my own demo.” He chuckled. “Hah, I _should_ be late. Remind those board suckers who relies on who around here. Nah, let’s go. I’m gonna blow them away, anyway.” Jack finished his drink in a huge swallow, standing. He dropped some money on the counter. “Oh, the drinks were on me, by the way,” he said to the bartender, who shrugged.

“Jack!” Rhys started to protest.

“Shhhhushush, babe, don’t worry, daddy’s got ya covered.”

Rhys really wished Jack would stop doing _this_. Jack’s hand clamped onto his shoulder like an iron vice and yanked him off the stool. Rhys stifled a yelp. Jack steered him toward the nearby exit.

Rhys managed a glare. “I can pay for my own drinks!”

“Yeah, I know, dumdum. And you can also punch yourself in the face. Just ‘cause you can, doesn’t mean ya should. Just accept a good thing for once in your miserable life, why don’tcha?”

“And why should _you_ pay for them?”

“Like I said. I’m here for ya, pal.”

Rhys stopped just outside, digging his heels in. It took some effort, but he shrugged free of Jack’s hold. Jack looked impatient. “Let’s get something straight, Jack. I appreciate the thought-”

“Thank you-”

“-but seriously, dude! There’s a difference between looking out for someone and meddling in _everything_ they do!”

“Come on, tiger, it was just _drinks_.”

Rhys groaned and rubbed his face. How did he explain that he didn’t…didn’t want Jack to do these things because… “Look, Jack, the only people I want buying me drinks out of the blue are the ones I want to fuck after, so just- _Don_ _’_ _t_ do it.” There was a heavy pause. Rhys realized what he'd said. He also realized he was going to have to live with it for the rest of his life, however long or short it may be since it seemed he couldn’t keep his damned mouth shut to save his life.

Jack’s face twisted for a moment, expression wobbling like he couldn’t decide between a simple frown or an outright glare. “Look, Rhysie, I’m trying to be _nice_.”

“I know, Jack,” Rhys hissed, “But sometimes you… Butting in every chance you get isn’t being…nice….” He trailed off. The way Jack was gazing at him made him want to sink through the ground to escape.

“Uh-huh, is that so?” Jack uttered in a thick voice, eyes hooded. He stepped closer.

“Yes,” Rhys forced out, swallowing.

Rhys almost jumped when Jack’s finger went up his changed arm, feather light through his sleeve. “Still hiding your little secret. I see,” Jack mused out loud.

“If I don’t, then it'd be a problem.”

The energy was so thick between them he wanted to run away, wanted to stay, wanted to be angry, wanted to fight, wanted more and less all at once. It was probably the alcohol getting to him. Jack pulled his hand away from Rhys's arm and stared at his face with a harsh expression. Jack took another step forward, then another, crowding until Rhys had to back away. He continued and backed Rhys against a wall, looming. Rhys was never quite sure what to make of this. Rhys was tall. He was used to towering over others, but somehow Jack threw that all to the wind like everything else, managing to be _just a bit_ taller, broader, _larger-_ enough that it made a difference. Jack's aura of dominance never helped matters.

So there he was, caged in, too caught up in this weird energy to say a word. Jack said nothing for a long time, gaze burning and intense.

“So…when are we gonna stop pretending _this isn’t happening_ , huh?” Jack growled, grabbing his shoulders.

“I don’t know what you’re talking abou- mmmf-“

Jack’s lips had slammed against Rhys’s. Rhys was too caught off guard to react. A thick tongue shoved itself into his mouth. It seemed too large, like Jack’s hands - which were still clutching on in a death grip. Jack quickly dominated his mouth, every space, swirling his tongue around Rhys’s with a dizzying speed. Rhys moaned without thinking, his body shaking at the heavy wave of lust that surged through him.

He felt Jack’s fingers skate down his chest to hook into his belt.

“S-stop!” Rhys yelped, pushing him off. Jack looked confused. Rhys hissed, “someone’s gonna see!“ He wiped the saliva off his lips with his sleeve as he looked around. Luckily he saw no bystanders...at the moment.

“So? You think I care?”

Rhys looked back at Jack, what had just happened was starting to sink in. “Holy shit, Jack, what- what are you _doing_?!”

“Uuuh, I believe it’s called kissing, genius. You said if I was gonna buy you drinks I should fuck you after.”

Rhys’s ears grew hot. “That’s not...exactly what I said-“

“Whatever, kiddo. Come on, we’re gonna miss my demo. We can pick this up later. Don’t worry, I’ll make it up to you.” Jack winked.

Rhys watched Jack walking on like nothing had happened. He decided the best option for him would be to try to escape the party after the demo. He’d planned to stay longer, but Jack was starting to become too much.

And he still had no idea how to deal with what...Jack had just done.


	12. Demonstration

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm pretty tired so hopefully I didn't screw anything up here XD  
> Anyway, I'm now very addicted to the song Fire Meet Gasoline by Sia. Very much a rhack song imo

Rhys’s thoughts buzzed, images of Jack’s lustful gaze flashing through his mind’s eye. That kiss…the way it’d felt…a bit like heaven. If Rhys had believed in heaven, anyway.

Did Jack just do it to mess with him? Like before, at the dinner?

He didn’t think it was that, not this time. But it could be. And he should keep that in mind. But if it wasn’t. He had no idea how to feel. One part of him was annoyed. Another was worried. But the largest part was undeniably thrilled. And _that_ annoyed him, too. What was he going to do? He couldn’t just…have sex with Handsome Jack… Right?

_Right?!?_

“Rhys!”

Rhys blinked and looked over at Vaughn. Vaughn looked concerned.

“I called your name like, _five times_ , bro! You alright?”

“Y-yeah…yeah. Just thinking.”

They were in the large auditorium which was cramped and crowded. Rhys was shocked Vaughn had managed to save them seats at all.

“Oh, it wasn’t easy. I had to fight off at least ten people,” Vaughn explained when he asked. “And one of them was a badass psycho. I headbutted him.”

Okay, so Vaughn was probably joking. Probably.

Despite having lost Jack earlier to the crowd, Rhys didn’t think the other had a reason to be late. The demo was supposed to start fifteen minutes ago. Rhys clenched his hands. He couldn’t explain the tightening anxiety in his stomach.

As if on cue, Jack came on stage. The auditorium plummeted into silence. It was a whiplash of noise, from loud to hushed. Whispers arose, and Rhys saw Jack’s face pinch behind the microphone. “Yeah, yeah, I’m your hero, blah blah blah, back from the dead because I’m a badass! Y’all should know I’m friggin immortal and never gonna die! And whaaat is this!? This ain’t a welcome, kiddos? This is sad! Give me some spirit. This has to be the most lifeless shindig I’ve ever seen!” His voice raised with each word.

There was hesitance. Someone started clapping. Followed by more clapping, until it rose to a deafening roar of noise. Rhys didn’t clap. He frowned, fists tightening harder against his knees. He was trying really hard not to recall that _very_ intimate kiss.

“Yeah!” Jack said. “Yeah! That’s what I’m talking about!”

When the clapping started to cease, Jack demanded more with a gesture of his hand. After another minute or so, he seemed satisfied. He stepped forward and began talking the noise down.

“Sooo, before I blow your little pea-brains away, I’ve just got a few things to say. First off, if you’re from Hyperion, y’all did an absolutely terrible, heh, _horrible_ job at keeping things intact in my absence. So. Screw you, lazy assholes. Second, if you’re a bandit, doubly screw you for walking into my beautiful city with your gross, baby-stomping boots and horrible body odor. Do me a favor and look up the word ‘shower’ later, mmkay? Or at least _deodorant_. Also, the rest of you are probably just assholes from rival companies, anyway, so just screw all of you.”

Confused and agitated muttering swept through the audience.

Jack’s eyes seemed to drift around, and Rhys swore silently as they landed on him. Jack winked and grinned. “Especially _one of you in particular_.” The anger had left his tone to be replaced with amusement and something…hungry.

Rhys winced, heat spreading up his neck and into his face. For fuck’s sake. How could he _really_ be attracted to this man…? Vaughn was trying to exchange a glance with him, but Rhys ignored his attempts to get his attention.

“Oh,” Jack said, “if you’re Chef Jenson, you’re unscrewed. You’re the only person here who can do anything, so thank you for not being useless!”

Rhys saw a man in the audience give a curt wave. “Always a pleasure, Handsome Jack!” he called.

_Wow._ Rhys glared. _Is he serious?_

“Rhys, what is _going on_?” Vaughn whispered.

“Your guess is good as mine, bro…”

A group of Hyperion soldiers wheeled a covered cart onto the stage. “Ah, _there_ she is!” Jack said in a pleased tone. The guards walked off to stand in a vigilant formation around the stage’s edge. “Aaaanyway,” Jack continued, “tonight, kiddos, is a _grand_ night that will mark the rebirth of Hyperion’s presence on Pandora with Project Revivification. Pretty cool title, huh? Bet most of you couldn’t even pronounce it.” Jack turned away and yanked the cover off the cart. “I present to you, this gorgeous babe, a device that processes small levels of Eridium into vast amounts of power.” On the cart was a box with glowing purple lines on it. Jack pulled on a dark, black glove over his right hand. “See this? This beauty?!”

Rhys found himself leaning forward, eyes narrowing. He’d read the report thoroughly, but he was still eager to see it work.

Jack grabbed a handle on it and pulled.

The auditorium was plunged in black, causing startled gasps from the attending members. The lights kicked back on, revealing Jack leaning over the box. “Right now, Opportunity’s main power is completely shut down, kiddos! We’re on back-up, in case it wasn’t obvious. Now, watch carefully!” He opened the box, which had a small circular sphere in the middle that glowed bright purple. “This is all the Eridium this baby contains at the moment.” Jack removed the sphere, holding it up. The sphere was no bigger than an apple. Jack pressed the sphere and it opened. A glowing liquid oozed out and dripped onto the floor, sizzling on ground. “Look at that. A friggin’ teaspoon!” He grabbed a little vial of the same liquid and tilted its contents into the sphere, careful not to spill it. “Also worth noting this stuff is barely dangerous. You might burn some skin off if you spill it on you, but you ain’t gonna die. You’ll ruin your granddad’s suit though, so best leave it to the professionals.”

After that, he put it all back together. He tossed the glove away and turned back to the audience. “In case it wasn’t obvious, this bad kitty right here is responsible for Opportunity’s power.” He tapped the box. “And that, friends and enemies, is how we can power a whole friggin’ city of people for _years_ on a few drops of Eridium at a time. This stuff practically grows on trees around here, so. Impressed? I know you are! Questions?”

“Excuse me?” A voice said. “What’s to stop this tech from being stolen. Looks like it just slides out of the box.” Rhys realized he recognized the guy as part of the Hyperion board.

Jack stared at the man for a bit, face unreadable. “Come here,” Jack said. That was met with confusion. “I said, come here, you idiot.”

The board member glared but stood and walked up onto the stage.

“Go ahead,” Jack said, “take the box. _Steal_ it.”

“What kind of nonsense-?!”

“Just do it!” Jack said. “You asked a question, this is me answering it! If you don’t want an answer, feel free to leave! Maybe throw yourself in the lake for the threshers on the way out and save me a headache later!”

The man frowned, grabbed the box, and pulled.

He screamed and seized up. People in the audience gasped and shrieked. The man fell to the floor, jerked a few times, then lay unmoving.

Jack laughed, “Whoa, what an idiot. Did he really not see that coming…?” Jack poked the body with his boot. “Whatev.” He looked up at everyone. “This is exactly what happens to anyone who tries to touch the box without authorization. Besides this, the box is always kept under the highest security, no elaboration necessary. The technology authorization itself, you have to buy from me.”

“Don’t you mean Hyperion?” Someone asked.

“Nope. All me.” Jack left the microphone. The guards came back over to wheel the cart off.

Everyone started talking at once.

“Oh man, that was _gross_ , Rhys!” Vaughn said. "That box sure is cool, though."

Rhys met his wide eyes. “And here I was, half-hoping he wouldn’t kill anyone tonight. Although, the dude kinda had it coming.” Rhys knew the Hyperion board was full of assholes.

“Yeaaah, he _kinda_ did, I guess,” Vaughn replied. “Hey, Rhys, uh, is there something you aren't telling me about you and uh, Jack?“

"Huh, what? Nooo-of course not!"

"Then why is he hardcore flirting with you, bro! In front of everyone!"

"I don't know!" Rhys said, running his hands through his hair. "Okay? I wish I did." He sighed. "I...I think-"

Everything exploded. The noise tore through the room. A shockwave that shook them to their core, rattling the walls and seats. “Holy shit!” Someone yelled. There were a lot of screams, now. A lot of people running.

Rhys found himself pressed flat against his seat. At first, he thought the explosion might have come from the stage, but a glance there told him that wasn’t the case. The soldiers had rushed into position around the cart, and Rhys couldn’t spot Jack. He raised his head and scanned the room with his Echo Eye. A hole had been blasted into the far wall. A group of loaders with glowing red lights came pouring through it, guns and shields up. Repair surveyors soared in ahead of them, unleashing little bolts of electricity at fleeing people. One swerved in Rhys’s and Vaughn’s direction.

“Duck!” Rhys yelled, grabbing Vaughn and practically dragging him under the row of seats. The bolt struck the ground, singeing the carpet.

Vaughn yelled. “Shouldn’t we be running or something!”

“If we try that, we’re gonna get butchered by those bots!” Rhys said. Damn it, this was Jack’s fault, for dragging him to this damn thing… “The exit’s too far! Just hang on, I have an idea!” He crawled forward enough to direct his scan. “Come on, come on, come on-“

_…Running Diagnostics Check for: …_

_…BULLoader_ _.exe_ _..._

_…Bypassing…_

_…Rerouting…_

A message popped up on his HUD in a red box.

_[An **Error** has occurred! Unknown Coding Detected! Please, despite risk of great personal harm, disable and send in this unit for a tamper check! Hyperion thanks you for your service!]_

“Great!” Rhys yelled, “that’s just great!”

“What’s going on!?”

“Someone’s hacked them!” Rhys‘s heart thudded in his ears. “I’m- I'm trying to override it, but it’s got several layers of replicating code!”

“Never mind that! I see an opening by the stage!” Vaughn’s hand landed on his shoulder. “Rhys! I…I think we can reach it!“

“Hang on…hang on a minute! I’ve almost got it…”

“Whatever you’re doing, Rhys, do it _faster_!”

Rhys furrowed his brow. He then smiled. “Ahaha, he’s all mine!” He let out a pleased whistle. The loader in his sights turned and began firing on the others, causing them to let out a series of “ow’s” and “hey’s” and “Please stand down for your imminent destruction’s”.

“Alright, go!” Rhys said. “I’ll cover you!”

“What?! That’s crazy!”

“If I get out of range I’m gonna lose this bot!”

“I’m not gonna just _leave_ you, bro!”

“I’m alright!” Rhys said, smirking. “Hacking is child’s play. I’m already on the second o-"

A nearby roar like an angry bull interrupted him. “Friggin’ defective SHITBAGS!” That was unmistakably Jack, and Rhys could hear rushing footsteps. There were several. He still couldn’t tell who was where though.

The only thing he knew for sure was the Hyperion security team was fighting back. Rhys saw a guy crouch nearby, gun blazing. A bullet tore through his helmet, splattering blood against the seats. He collapsed in front of Rhys’s hiding spot, leaking blood everywhere.

“Oh god, that’s gross,” Rhys muttered, scooting back and trying to focus on the bot. “Don’t puke, don’t puke-“ he chanted to himself.

“Rhys! We gotta go!”

“You go, Vaughn!” Rhys yelled. “I…almost got-“

The second loader came under his control.

“That’s two down!” he cheered. The second loader joined the first. He could…almost sense it then. A force fighting back against his own hacks, trying to take back over. “Oh no you don’t, bastard,” he muttered, focusing all his power on keeping the loaders under sway. “Rhys. Always. Winz.“ He paused and shook his head. “Nope, sorry. That sounded cooler in my head.”

A grenade fell near the corpse.

“Shit,” Rhys started to scrambled back, but he hit the seat. The grenade exploded, turning the Hyperion soldier’s body into a shower of blood and body parts.

Rhys found himself staring at the ceiling. Head ached. Ears rang. Cybernetics buzzed. Something hot and stinging dripped down his face. He wasn’t under the seat anymore. He lay in a pile of wreckage and blood.

“Ughh.” He felt his eyes closing.

Something grabbed him and dragged him. He tried to resist but could barely move. He was shoved back behind a wall of wreckage by the stage, and the one responsible came into focus. Jack’s fingers snapped in front of his face. Jack’s voice sounded far away, as if he was in another room, yelling. “Hey, wake up, Rhysie!”

Rhys blinked. “Vaughn, where’s Va-“

“You’re little nerd friend’s fine, don’t worry. He got into the tunnel access after I told him I’d save your stupid ass. Seems he has more brains than you.”

“Shut up. Asshole.”

“What the hell are you doing here?! This is a _shootout_ , princess!“

“I was rehacking your bots for you, you’re welcome!”

A bullet pinged off the wall next to Rhys. He winced.

“Frick. hang on, I’m not done,” Jack said. He hit his pocket watch and vanished from sight.

Well, that was disconcerting, Rhys had to admit. His senses were coming back to him. He’d probably lost his hold on the robots, he reflected. The noises of the fight were getting louder. He sat forward and risked a look beyond his cover.

Two of the loaders were scrap piles at this point. However, most of the Hyperion fighters had been wasted. There were a few left, yelling desperate orders at each other as the remaining loaders tromped over the wreckage of seats. The surveyors seemed down a few numbers, too. The ones left were busy trying to repair the damaged loaders.

To Rhys’s surprise, one of his hacked bots was still fighting. It had the advantage of being a BUL loader, and it kept pulling up its plow and crashing it into the enemy. The surprise came more from the fact that the hacker hadn’t taken back control of it yet. But as Rhys rescanned, he realized with a smile his code had come out the superior in the end.

Rhys saw Jack reappear about halfway down the aisle. Jack howled obscenities, drawing attention. He held a nasty-looking shotgun. It tore through two surveyors that dived at him with corrosive rounds. He yanked it around. A third loader went down under its attack. It was then Rhys remembered that he'd seen that weapon before. The infamous Conference Call. Rhys shook his head. He saw a second loader coming from the other side. It demolished a security soldier before turning towards Jack.

Jack didn’t see it.

Rhys whipped out of his spot, hand raised. He turned the BUL loader under his command. The BUL plowed into the enemy bot, smashing its legs right off.

“OW!” the hostile loader complained. “Systems require maintenance! Repair surveyors requ-”

The BUL finished it off with a few shots from its mini gun.

Jack spun around, shotgun pointing at the BUL loader. The BUL ignored him and shot down a surveyor, which seemed to convince Jack it was an ally. His shotgun lowered and his eyes turned toward Rhys. Rhys waved with a sheepish smile. Jack grinned back, nodded, and vanished again.

Rhys accessed what was left of the enemy, but the last of the hostile loaders were being cornered by their team and the single ally BUL loader. It was all over a few minutes later, leaving smoke, a robot scrap pile, and a single BUL patrolling the area.

Rhys’s heart was still thrumming. He leaned back against the wall, sucking in deep breaths to calm it. His head ached, but he at least the immediate danger was over.

“What the hell?!”

Rhys jumped. Jack reappeared in front of him. “Damn it, Jack, could you _not_ do that?”

“Why’d you stick around?” Jack asked, crouching down to get eye-level. “Everyone else was _running for it_. You’re not a _fighter_.”

“I’m also not an idiot.”

“Debatable.”

Rhys glared at Jack. “Shut up. People were- were getting picked off at the doors. ‘Sides, my hacking helped you!”

Jack sighed, waving a hand. “Yeah, fine…I suppose it _worked_. Mostly. Sort of.”

“I’d say I saved your life just now,” Rhys said with a smug grin.

“Hardly. I had a shield on, dumdum. Even if I somehow missed the loader, it would’ve hit the shield and _then_ I woulda killed it.”

“Suure.”

“And _you_ almost got _yourself_ killed. _Like an idiot_.” He jabbed a finger at Rhys. “So how many wounds ya got? You’re covered in blood.”

“Just this,” Rhys said, pointing at his head. “This is nothing, of course. I don’t even feel it.”

“Liar. You look like ya got skull bashed. Let me see.” Jack reached up and touched it. A lot more gently than Rhys expected. Rhys winced at a light probe near his temple. Jack drew back after a few more heartbeats. “Doesn’t seem too deep,” Jack said. “I’ve got some healing hypos back at the office you can use. Should clear it right up.”

“Oh, come on, there’s no need for that! It’s not _that_ bad.”

Jack’s brow raised. “Don’t tell me you’re scared of needles, pumpkin.”

Rhys frowned. “It just seems unnecessary!”

“We’ll see."

Rhys exhaled. "Anyway. Any idea who hacked those bots?"

"Nope, but we'll figure it out. God, this _ruins_ everything. I just wanted a fun night. Can't have everything, though, it seems. Screw the fireworks, party's over, we're sending these idiots home. Can you walk?”

Rhys rolled his eyes. “Yes. Of course. I just said it’s not that bad.”

“Come on, then,” Jack said, standing up and making for the exit

Rhys stood up much more slowly. He hesitated once he got to his feet. Jack paused and turned around. “Well?”

“I…” Rhys hesitated. “Maybe I should go.” He picked at his gloved hand for a moment.

Rhys thought Jack would protest, but the other just gave a weary sigh. “Fine. Whatever.” He gestured vaguely, turned, and left. Somehow, the look...managed to come across disappointed.

Rhys stood there for a long moment, uncertain. He checked his messages to see a bunch of worried ones from Vaughn, asking if he’d been rescued or not. He sent a reassuring message back. He deliberated for a few moments. “Ah, fuck it.” He sent Vaughn a message not to wait up for him, and then made for the door Jack had left through.

Rhys walked into the familiar room of tech. Jack was sitting at his computer. He still looked like a mess from the fight, hair askew, clothes spattered in blood...and oil? Probably.

“Decided not to leave?” Jack asked, some surprise in his voice.

Rhys walked over. “Yeah. Well, I… There’s something we should…talk about.”

Jack furrowed his brow at him. But he nodded. “I see. Come on. I’ll show you my new…house. It’s not super great, but that’s ‘cause I have to wait for those idiots to finish building the new penthouse.”

Rhys nodded. “Alright. Let’s go.”

“But first,” Jack said, grabbing Rhys’s hand and thrusting a instant-healing syringe into it. “No bleeding on the new furniture.”

* * *

The place was nice enough on the outside with its perfectly trimmed hedges and flower beds, Rhys noted, but it was also a bit generic. Its plain siding and flat roof were obviously intended for someone less prestigious. The whole layout seemed too simple for Jack. Plus, it was on a corner of a block with several other similar houses.

Jack unlocked the door with his handprint.

Rhys gaped when they stepped inside.

“Make yourself at home,” Jack said, seeming unaware what a sorry state this place was in. He vanished down a side hall.

Rhys stared. Furniture was arranged in odd ways. Stray clothes decorated several surfaces along with boxes (some empty, some not), wrappers, and hundreds of datapads and Echo logs. On the walls were Wanted posters for the infamous Vault Hunters, and they had countless darts sticking in them. And bullet holes. _So many_ bullet holes. Missed darts lay on the floor. Rhys thought there might even be some remnants of a broken beer bottle there too.

At least there wasn’t old food. Oh wait, there was a bag of open dry pretzels on the coffee table next to a recliner. No telling how old they were. Honestly, the fact Jack ate something as lame as dry pretzels was hilarious to him.

Rhys thought he should be appalled by the sorry state of the place, but his emotional reaction was…not there. _What is actually wrong with me?_ Rhys wondered. There was no way he had sexual attraction for Jack, right? Not after this, right?!

Maybe all his disgust had been used up on the dead bodies in the firefight. He snorted and moved over to one of the free recliners and sat in it with all the awkwardness of being unused to the room. The recliner was a lot nicer than he’d expected it to be. In fact, it seemed almost new. Which made sense, he supposed, considering how recent Hyperion's presence was. He sank into it with a sigh of relief. It felt good to have a soft surface to relax on.

Rhys heard a shower start up. He sat up at that, the awareness he was in Jack’s living space getting the best of him. He drew his legs up and rested his elbows on his knees.

Jack emerged awhile later, hair damp and loose, clad in a flannel and faded yellow sweater and sweatpants. It was certainly a look Rhys wasn’t accustomed to on him. Rhys swallowed his nerves, adverting his eyes.

What was going on here? Was Jack wanting him to leave? Or was he expecting sex now? He didn’t feel confident asking, but he hoped Jack realized that’s exactly what they needed to talk about.

“Do you want…?” Jack trailed off. Rhys looked at him again. Jack was on the other side of the debris-littered couch, expressionless. “…Well, since you’re here and all…” Jack hesitating had to be the strangest thing, Rhys thought.

“Yeah?” Rhys prompted.

“Well… Do you want to put on the TV?” Jack asked. He turned and walked towards the other room that seemed to be a kitchen.

_What?_ Groaning at the effort, Rhys pulled himself from the comfy spot and to his feet. He walked to the kitchen where Jack was pouring a glass of bourbon. “Goddamned fight sobered me up,” Jack muttered with a laugh.

Rhys walked over, sensing something off in the way Jack stared at the hard beverage.

“Yeah, I know what you mean.” It was starting to click, what was happening here. “So, what? …Not such a confident sex god without the liquid courage?” Rhys asked. Somehow it didn’t sound like the joke he was intending it to be.

Jack turned his gaze toward him. “You don’t make this easy, Rhysie,” he said in one of the calmest voices Rhys had ever heard from him.

“Wait- wait wait-“ Rhys said, gripping his hair with both hands. “That’s why- why you were tipsy out there today? And, the last time, when we had the dinner… But you said… You said it was all a joke? Was that kiss out there a joke too?” He was getting frustrated. “I- I don’t understand you!”

Jack looked into his glass of alcohol but didn’t move. He didn’t say a word, and Rhys began to doubt if he would.

“Fine,” Rhys muttered, dropping his arms.

“I know what I said before,” Jack growled. Jack gripped his glass and drained it in a huge swallow, slamming it back down. He turned to Rhys. “But it was a lie. I _want_ you, Rhys. I want you, and I don’t know why. It’s so… _frustrating_.”

Rhys glared. It was a struggle to hold on to his own agitation, but Rhys was afraid of what might replace it if he let it go. “Why’d you _lie_?!”

“To be...honest with ya. I...started doubting after you turned me down. I thought… I thought it’d just be better to pretend it was a joke. Easier.” Jack’s eyes burned, something building in them, sharp and dangerous. He took one step toward Rhys, but no further, displaying that uncertainty again. He reached up as if he wanted to grab Rhys, but stopped, letting his hands fall to his sides.

Rhys couldn’t bring himself to do anything, to show his cards one way or another. There was a time he would have given a lot for something like this. Once upon a time, he would’ve _killed_ for Jack just to even know his name. He couldn’t have ever fathomed Jack would one day be looking at him with desire and need. But now… So much had happened, and…

Rhys had to be smarter than he was.

“God, I want you _so fucking badly_.” Jack said, voice thick. “And that’s the truth, pumpkin. The goddamned annoying as hell truth.”

There was a long pause, and Rhys kept his mouth shut.

Jack’s eyes narrowed. “So…what, nothin’ to say to my amazing confession? It doesn't blow your socks off?”

“What _should_ I say?” Rhys responded, gripping his arms together. _That I want you too? How stupid that is? How bad of an idea it would be to pursue this?_

“The truth, Rhys. I just told you mine, now tell me yours.”

Rhys shook his head, keeping his voice as steady as he could. “The truth? The truth, plain and simple, is that it doesn’t matter what you or I want. This can’t happen.”

“And why’s that?”

“I… We're- we’re important people from rival companies. I’m CEO, and after that incredible demo today, they’ll probably reinstate you as CEO. Maybe Hyperion could afford that kind of scandal, but Atlas can’t. If anyone found out-”

“Then don’t. Let. Them."

“I guess you don’t read tabloids?” Rhys said dryly. “People always find out. Hell there’s probably already rumors at this point.”

“Exactly! People are going to talk and make shit up, regardless of what we do.”

“I’m not going to give them proof!” Rhys sighed. “It’s not just the potential scandal either. It’s _u_ _s_. We have too much history. Even if you want to put it aside, we can’t just ignore it. We had a really hard time maintaining an alliance just imagine trying to maintain a sexual relation, _god._ ”

"Oh," Jack’s voice sounded bitter. “So this about you not trusting me.”

“Jack, that’s not…not it, exactly.”

“Sure sounds like it.”

How was Rhys supposed to respond to that? "It's...complicated, Jack. Too complicated, is what I mean."

Jack stepped away, pouring another glass of the alcohol. He drained that too. “Whatever, cupcake. I get it. I’m not gonna to argue anymore. I've already got a headache.” There was a defeated finality to his voice. “Do what you will.” He turned and left the kitchen.

“Um,” Rhys said, following him back to the living area. He felt awkward again. “Is…there somewhere I can stay? It’s really late, and I don’t want to drive back like this.” In truth, Rhys didn’t feel overly tired. The fight and Jack’s confession both left his mind buzzing, but he didn’t trust the drive and endless stretches of empty road not to lull him into drowsiness.

Jack rolled his eyes. “Stay here. It’s no big.” He went down the hall to presumably the bedroom, leaving the door open. Rhys glanced at the couch. It was buried in…stuff, and none of that stuff was blankets or pillows. What did Jack intend?

“Rhys?” Jack called. “C’mere.”

Rhys walked into the bedroom. It wasn’t super fancy, but it looked cozy enough. It had simple but pleasant décor and a king-sized bed. The bedroom was actually tidier than the rest of the house. Rhys figured Jack must not spend as much time in here.

Rhys stepped over towards Jack, curious.

Jack gestured towards the bed. “You can sleep on my bed.”

“I’m sorry?”

“It’s the only bed here, including bedding,” Jack explained. “Don’t worry, I’m not tired. I won’t bother you. I'm just gonna do some work out in the living room.”

“But…”

“Before you even think about sleeping though, you’re gonna take a shower. You're gross right now. Shower's the door on the left when you leave this room.” Jack left the room, shutting the door behind him.

Rhys followed the instructions, going to the bathroom. To his shock, the bathroom was even cleaner than everything else. With a grumble of confused agitation, he peeled off his blood-soiled clothes and took a hot shower, washing the blood from his skin and hair. When he finished, he left his clothes in the hamper where Jack’s earlier ones seemed to be. He redressed in nothing but his boxers and his socks.

Rhys stared at nothing when he returned to the room. He brushed his hands over the silken soft sheets on the bed. They were a lot nicer than he had expected. He felt strange but climbed onto the bed. He lay down, inhaling Jack’s scent. He scooted timidly to the pillow, pulled at the blanket, and covered himself. It was oddly comforting. Rhys tried to sleep.

Jack had confessed to wanting Rhys for awhile now, so… Did that mean Jack had jerked off in this very bed to thoughts of him?

Rhys blushed and shoved the thought away, rolling over and hugging the blanket tighter to his body. After fighting off some more unwanted thoughts, he finally drifted to sleep.

* * *

Rhys heard a creak. His eyes fluttered open to the dark room. He heard what almost seemed to be cautious footsteps before the bed dipped on the other side. Rhys felt the person settle down there. Rhys shifted and shut his eyes again, sinking back into sleep.


	13. Playing Hard to Get

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note: I'm going to try something a little different with the "texting" here (like when the characters message each other on the Echo). Hope it comes across alright. I'm gonna probably change the other texting conversations when I get time to match this new format.  
> Also: I'm so very sorry I haven't replied to comments yet. I will try to do this soon. I've just been so damned busy. I have classes, work, and an internship I'm juggling right now T-T. It's terrible. I will reply eventually though! Just know that I love and cherish all of them!

As Rhys awakened, the first thing he registered was the sensation of something pressed against his back. Something large and warm. He squinted in the faint lighting of the room before turning his head to see who- He felt his mouth drop.

Handsome Jack, mask and all, sound asleep beside him, as if this wasn’t the weirdest shit in the whole of Pandora.

_Oooooh god._

Maybe this wasn’t so weird, not with the way Jack had been lately. Rhys stared at the sleeping face, trying to recall _. Did…did we…?_ His own face heated instantly. Okay, no, he remembered last night, and he sort of remembered Jack coming to bed. So much for ‘not bothering him.’ Still, Rhys became _very_ aware of his underdressed state. “Whaat is happening?” he blurted. Wait, no-

Jack’s eyes snapped open, and Rhys stared into the mismatched gaze. It was far less intense than he remembered, softened with sleep. Jack jerked away, back to his side of the bed. “Sheesh,” Jack muttered. “Relax, pumpkin.” His voice was weakened with sleepiness, and Rhys was astonished by its laxed quality. It was almost…lilting like this, as if Jack had the _faintest_ of faint accents. “You were hogging the blankets.” Without any warning, Jack yanked the covers.

Rhys felt the cold air of the room hit his bare skin. He yelped, indignant, sitting up. “Give it back!” He snatched the blanket in a tight grip and tried to pull it to him.

Jack held on like a steel trap. “Let go before I smother you with a pillow!” he growled, but Rhys heard the amusement in the threat, knew it wasn’t serious.

“I’d like to see you try!” Rhys yanked hard, jerking Jack’s arms.

“You’re gonna rip my good sheets, pumpkin!” Jack complained. “Then you’re buying me new ones! They’d better be pure silk!”

“You’re the one not letting go!”

“You’re the one pulling!”

“I need this more than you! You’re wearing a _sweater_!

“I didn’t ask you to take your friggin’ clothes off, sweetheart!”

“Actually you d-“ Rhys started the joke, stopped himself, and went with- “You expected me to sleep in that blood-soaked suit?! You said I had to clean up!”

“You could’ve asked for something to sleep in-“ Jack pulled so hard, Rhys fell over on top of him. “Like a robe, or- Oh my god, you’re such a little pain in the ass, Rhysie!” Jack said when Rhys tried to pry the cover out of Jack’s hand with his robot one. Jack didn’t let go, but he stopped moving, eyes narrowed. It was such an abrupt halt, Rhys glanced at him in confusion. “Wait, cupcake…” Rhys stopped tugging so hard. Jack’s brows shot up, and he wheezed. “Oh my- Is your hair normally this curly? Oh god- That’s- that’s friggin _hilarious_!” He let out full-blown laughter.

Right, Rhys had washed and slept his carefully cultivated look away. Freakin’ Jack. “Shut up, jerk!” Rhys hissed, face burning. “And _let go_. _My_ blanket!” Rhys managed to pull it up enough to wrap the edge around his shoulders. He started to lean away.

“Alright, you asked for it!” Jack flipped them both over, surprising Rhys. He pushed Rhys down and leaned over him, the blanket tangled between them.

Rhys stared. “What are-?”

Jack smirked down. “Time for a Jack attack!”

And then…Jack…fucking tickled him.

“Oh- oh my god, _Jack_!” Rhys squeaked, writhing. He tried to fight back, but Jack was determined. Plus, his clothing protected him from a true retaliation. Damn it.

“Heheh, I warned you, Rhysie!” Jack had way too much energy quite suddenly. “And you just wouldn’t listen, wouldja? You never do!”

Rhys squirmed, trying to get away from Jack’s hands. “Oh-haha- Alright, heh- alright, _alright_!” he exclaimed, panting and giggling entirely against his will. Jack let him go. And Rhys realized why. Jack had successfully reclaimed the full blanket, wrapping it around himself. He flopped onto the bed. “Gee,” Rhys struggled to recover, managing his words between gasps of air. “What…what are you, _four_?” He slumped back against his pillow.

Jack lay on the longest edges of the blankets to keep them from Rhys. “I’m not the one stealing the covers, pumpkin.”

“Me? You stole them _first_!”

“It’s my bed. How can I steal _my own covers_?”

“By giving them to someone else and taking them away?”

Jack turned enough to give Rhys a fully-annoyed face. “I didn’t _give_ them to you. I let you _borrow_ them. And now your time’s up, princess.”

Rhys frowned, crossing his arms. And yes, he did pout a little. He wasn’t going to play fair, not when he had good ammunition. “You’re so mean to me. You never said there was a _time limit_.”

Jack remained unmoved. “Uh? Just did.”

“Fine,” Rhys said, a smirk tugging at his lips. “You don’t have to give them to me.” He crawled toward Jack.

Jack eyed him, something like wariness in his gaze. “What’re you _up to_ , pumpkin?”

Rhys sprawled across Jack, earning an “oof.”

“Well,” he said in a smug voice, “if I can’t have the blanket to myself, then I’ll just use it as best I can.” He lay his head on the blanket – on Jack - closing his eyes. He could hear Jack’s breathing, in and out, in and out, the whoosh of air with each inhale and exhale. He drank in Jack’s scent around him, hands clenching against the bed covers. Jack smelled different than he was used to. There was a lot less alcohol, blood, gunpowder, coffee. This scent was body wash, shampoo, and whatever the hell made it _Jack_.

In that moment, given time to think, he reflected…

He really did like this.

Jack’s hand came up, and brushed up the back of his neck, traveling up into his hair, fingers tangling almost painfully in his locks. Rhys’s breath caught. Was this what dating Jack would be like? Dumb morning fights over the covers? Weird almost-cuddles and touching?

No, no, no, he couldn’t think like this. Couldn’t afford to. This was one hundred percent platonic. It had to be.

Jack’s voice reached his ears. “It’s not a bad look, y’know.”

“Hmm?” Rhys hummed, a part of him wanting to drift back to sleep. His back was chilly but most of him was soaking up the heat from Jack’s covers just fine.

“The hair. I mean, I wouldn’t wear it into the boardroom like this but… It’s not a bad look.”

Rhys tilted his face up to meet Jack’s gaze. “I thought you said, ‘hilarious’.” He air-quoted.

“Why do you assume those two things are incompatible, Rhysie?”

“Oh yes, it is I, Rhys, who has nice _and_ hilarious hair. Makes total sense.”

“Now you’re just being obtuse,” Jack muttered. His hand roamed down the front of Rhys’s neck and slotted against his throat. “I think ya know what I meant.”

Rhys really didn’t.

He probably should’ve been warier with Jack’s large, rough hand on his windpipe, but he found himself distracted by the warm touch of skin between them. “Your skin’s…just _so_ soft,” Jack observed, sounding a bit uncertain. “Is that normal? Or do you have some sorta condition?”

Rhys grumbled, impatience growing. “Yeah, I have a _condition_. It’s called a _I take care of my skin_.”

“Nah, it just means you’re pampered. I’ll bet you’ve never even been to a gym in your life, huh?”

“Who goes to a gym anymore? Everyone knows they’re all scams. What are you, living in the stone age or something? I guess for an old man like you-”

Jack growled, a sharp grin stretching his face, hand squeezing just a bit against Rhys’s throat, a (playful?) warning. “I’m gonna have to _actually_ smother you with a pillow at this rate.”

Rhys huffed. “You can try, but if you move, I’m taking this blanket back.” His hand lingered at the blanket’s – Jack’s – side.

“Whoa, check out ruthless little Rhysie here!” Jack’s hand dropped, eyes running over Rhys. Rhys felt his skin tingle under the scrutinizing gaze. “You’ve got quite a bit of ink, don’t ya, pumpkin? Nerd ink. Was it this extensive before? ‘Cause you really went overboard-”

“Shut it.” Rhys had gotten a new tattoo on his side a few months ago. It was a hexagonal pattern under his left rib. It stretched down to the top of his hip, and quite frankly, he thought it was really cool.

“What’s the matter, pumpkin? I’m just observing-“

Rhys grabbed Jack’s right hand, pointing at his wrist. “And this _isn’t_ nerdy ink? What is it, anyway, it looks like…like…” His brain wasn’t cooperating.

Jack rolled his eyes. “It’s a cog, genius. A gear. Ya know, like a machine? Because machines are badass…that do badass things. Point is, this is badass ink. Not this weird nerd shit you’ve got.”

“Yeah, right. Nobody thinks that but you.”

Rhys stared at his own left hand gripping Jack’s right one. Jack was letting him do this. Was letting Rhys touch him, casual and friendly. Rhys’s changed arm stood out against Jack’s normal one, and he felt a little sour about it. His arm felt…weird and gross, as much as he didn’t like to acknowledge it. A large part of him still wanted…whatever this was to be gone. But Jack hadn’t said much about it, other than to seem fascinated by its power as a vault key. Rhys was thankful he hadn’t been teased about it too much.

A sharp pain struck Rhys. He let go and bolted up into a sitting position, wincing. “Shit,” he muttered. “Oh crap, crap-“ The second wave of agony hit, and he groaned, gripping the limb to himself and drawing his legs up to his body, wanting to curl up on himself.

Jack sat up too. “What the hell’s with you all of a sudden?”

Rhys sucked in a sharp breath as he waited out the intensity of the pain. “I…I suddenly remember… that I forgot my painkillers. It’s been almost a full day without them…” A fresh wave of agony hit, and he bit back a whimper.

Jack didn’t even blink, holding Rhys’s gaze, that intensity Rhys remembered so well back in place. “Your _what_?”

“Painkillers…for my arm.”

Jack didn’t respond right away. His eyes dropped to Rhys’s changed arm. “Jesus, that vault key fucked it up that bad, huh?”

Rhys managed a nod. Now that there was a lull in the agony, he moved to climb off the bed, but Jack gripped his shoulder, stopping him. “I can get them.” He used a tone of voice that indicated he wasn’t going to take no for an answer.

Rhys was taken aback. “ _What_? But- You don’t even know where I parked. I’m not even sure if _I_ remember.”

“I know where you parked. I met you outside earlier, remember?”

Maybe Jack’s need to manifest into Rhys’s life at any possible moment was paying off for once. Rhys really didn’t want to get up right now. He just wanted to curl into a ball and cry. He wasn’t about to argue when he just wanted relief. And Jack could probably get it faster anyway. “Fine. They’re…in the glove compartment…”

Jack sprang out of bed and vanished out the door. Rhys cradled his arm, slumping to the bed for the comfort of its softness. God, this whole thing with Jack had completely distracted him. He felt like he should be mad about that, but he wasn’t. He was kind of glad the truth had been spilled. At least all those confusing things now made sense. Now, he could fully deal with them. His wandering thoughts came to a halt; more pain curled up his arm, spiking all the way to the shoulder. He felt dizzy, vision swimming.

It felt like hours, but eventually Jack came back with a disposable cup of water and the vial of painkillers. Rhys accepted it all gratefully, popping the pill and chasing it with a drink.

“Thanks,” Rhys muttered, setting the cup on the side table. “…I’m gonna need a bit for this to kick in.” He returned to his lying position.

Jack hesitated beside the bed, looming. It made Rhys a bit wary, especially through his own discomfort. He felt weak. Jack’s physical presence was already intimidating, even if he now had bed head and fewer layers, and it wasn’t helping Rhys feel much better.

“Does it hurt to touch?” Jack asked.

“Not exactly. It just…hurts in general.”

Jack reached over. “So, can I?”

Rhys felt confused. “I guess...”

Jack touched it, carefully. “Weird,” he remarked, pulling his hand back.

“Yep.”

Rhys was hit again, and he gasped, unable to suppress a sharp moan. He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to recover himself. It was several moments before he opened them again and glanced at Jack. He saw Jack lean over and grab the blanket they’d been fighting for. He threw it on top of Rhys, but didn’t bother to straighten it out. “Here. Have it back. I’m gonna go call for some breakfast. ‘m starving.” Jack left the room.        

Rhys checked his Echo Eye for personal messages. He had some from both Yvette and Vaughn, both checking in. They seemed slightly concerned by the fact he’d chosen to stay in Opportunity.

He messaged them. _~I’m fine. Got stuck here overnight because I didn’t want to drive back so tired._ He thought for a minute, and then went on. _~So, you know the “joke” from before. With Jack? Apparently it wasn’t a joke. Jack actually is attracted to me. It’s sooo weird._

Jack returned just then with a laptop, sitting cross-legged on the bed and opening it. “So, looks like you were _right_ , pumpkin.” He sounded quite happy.

“About what?” Rhys mumbled. The painkillers were kicking in.

“Sooo’s, not to brag but- They’re _totally_ gonna reinstate me as CEO! Not that they’re too happy about it!” He sounded gleeful. “God, they hate me, I hate them, we’re the dysfunctional Hyperion family, baby, and I’m gonna make their lives hell. And also return to being filthy rich, going to lavish parties, banging people-!”

“Great,” Rhys said dryly. “Now we really do get to be actual rivals… _Hyperion_.”

“Oooh. Chills. I like that. _Hyperion_. Badass title for a hero. Heh, _Atlas_ ,” he growled back in a playful tone. “That really suits you, eh? Isn’t this _grea_ t!? We’re like…frenemies now! We get to bite each other’s heads off in public, but in private, laugh about stupid idiots, hang out like buds, go for drinks, vent about our boards and useless staff-” and Jack started going on and on about all the things he was imagining would happen now they were rival CEOs.

Rhys zoned out a bit. He didn’t understand why Jack was so pumped to be _official_ rivals. Rhys took a deep breath, let it out slowly. Boredly, he checked his messages to see Yvette had already replied. _~omg. You two are starting to become a soap opera_

Rhys messaged back _. ~I know, I know._

_Y9: ~So you banged? Give me the deets :P_

_Rhy5w1nz:_ _~No! Of course not! Just because he’s attracted to me doesn’t mean we’re gonna bang!_

_Y9: ~REALLY RHYS?!_

_Rhy5w1nz: ~It’s a bad idea!_

_Y9: ~QUIT BEING AN IDIOT AND BANG HIM, I STG_

_...typing..._

_Y9: ~AND IF YOU DON’T AND I HAVE TO HEAR MORE OF YOUR STUPID PINING, I WILL START CHARGING YOU FOR MY TIME_

_Y9: ~I’M NOT A THERAPIST. BESIDES THERAPISTS GET **PAID**! _

_Rhy5w1nz: Are the caps really necessary?_

_Y9: ~YOU WILL OWE ME A HUNDRED BUCKS FOR EVERY TIME YOU SAY THE WORD JACK AROUND ME_

_Y9: ~YES_

Rhys sighed. Okay. Well, that was nice. He couldn’t exactly blame her, though. He had been venting to her a lot lately about Jack. He probably should do it a little less. He sent back, _~You love me too much to do that._

_Y9: ~You wanna bet? Better start saving that money Rhys. I wasn't kidding_

Rhys sent an eye-rolling emoji before closing out of the chat.

“So, Jack?” Rhys asked. “Do you have something I could wear? For now, anyway? I um, don’t have any spare clothes-“

By way of reply, Jack stood up and sat the laptop aside. He opened a drawer, dragged out a couple things, and tossed them at Rhys. “You’re welcome,” he said before returning to his laptop.

Rhys pulled the items of clothing to him. It was an old sweater and a pair of skinny jeans. The sweater looked like it was going to be too large, but he would make do. It wasn’t like he had to worry about his looks, just that his skin was covered from the chill. _And Jack’s gaze._ The emotion that followed that thought wasn’t very supportive of his endeavors to stay unaffected by Jack's attraction to him. He shook his head, pushing the blanket off and pulling the sweater on over his head. Yes, it was too large, but at least his body height kept it from hanging too low on him. It just pooled on his shoulders and folded at his sides more than he would like. He slipped off the bed, yanking the jeans on. They were a bit too loose as well, but the fact they were skinny jeans did help.

“You have a belt?” Rhys asked.

Jack didn’t even look up from his reclaimed laptop. “Yeah, in the closet over there. Behind the door.”

Rhys followed the directions, finding a dark thin belt to loop through the jeans and keep them in place on his waist. Rhys was grateful he still had his socks to protect his feet from the cold floor. Rhys turned back to Jack. “Alright.”

Jack finally looked up. Jack's brows tightened. He blinked, mouth falling open. “Uh… _damn_ , pumpkin. You look like you could stomp all over m-er, _someone_.”

“What?” Rhys said in shock. He had expected Jack to start laughing at this ridiculous, haphazard ensemble. “What the hell does that mean?”

“It’s uh…yeah, uh, definitely _not_ a bad look.” Jack cleared his throat. The expression on his face was a familiar one, hungry. His voice pitched deeper, but also rougher. “It’s like…like you absorbed some of my…badass aura or something.”

Rhys…suddenly understood what Jack meant. He went red but grabbed his pillow and threw it at Jack. “Oh my god, you freakin’ old pervert. Stop eye-fucking me already. It’s not like I want to wear your damned clothes!” Rhys left the room with a huff before Jack could retort. He decided to search for breakfast. He located and opened Jack’s freezer. He dug a bit but it was mostly empty. “Ugh, seriously. What kind of man is he…” Rhys muttered. “No ice cream in the freezer…”

“What was that?”

Rhys whirled around. Jack was in the doorway of the kitchen. “Ugh. Why the hell wouldn’t you have ice cream? What kind of grown man doesn’t keep a well-stocked supply of ice cream!”

Jack went still again, but this time in a different way. He stared at Rhys as if trying to remember something. After a moment, he simply pulled out his Echo and tapped on it. “You really are something else, Rhys.”

“What…what’d I say?” Rhys asked. Jack’s mood swings would forever baffle him. “Is something wrong?”

“Hah, more like is something _right_?!” Jack was back to radiating that unconquerable happiness. “Don’t worry, Rhysie-cup. I’m having an ice cream _feast_ delivered to this door _right now_. Handsome Jack gets whatever he needs precisely when he needs it.”

Rhys stared at Jack’s amused face. “Seriously? Oh, wait, you’re playing a joke on me, aren’t you?”

“Normally, that’d be a fair assumption,” Jack waved his hand, “buuut…”

There was a knock. A voice called through the door. “Handsome Jack, sir? We’re here to deliver your breakfast! Chef Jenson sends his regards.”

“Eh? _Ehhh_?” Jack exclaimed with wiggling eyebrows.

Rhys watched in astonishment as a cart was wheeled in to the kitchen that smelled like heaven. Big covered platters and bowls adorned it. Jack had it placed about the table and then the delivery person left. Jack uncovered the platters. Indeed, there were pancakes, eggs, bacon, sausage….and about ten flavors of ice cream. Rhys’s jaw dropped. “How the heck…? That was really fast-”

“Ahhh,” Jack sighed at the food, sounding very satisfied. “That’s…that’s just so beautiful!”

“Who eats _sausage_ for breakfast!” Rhys exclaimed, trying to cover his own shock and happiness. “Those are grease piles!”

“Sit down, champ; you’re pushing your luck. I mean, a thank you for the last-minute ice cream would be nice. Seriously, there’s just no appreciation anymore-”

“Yeah, alright!” Rhys interrupted. “Fine, okay… It looks good. Very good.”

“Yeah it does! Help yourself, baby!”

* * *

Breakfast was interesting. Rhys watched Jack successfully devour enough food to easily feed three adult men for a morning. There may or may not have been some ice cream mixing and them daring each other to try weird combinations of the various foods. It was finished with Rhys trying a sausage on a pancake topped with ice cream, which was weird but not as horrible as it sounded. Not that Rhys could bring himself to finish it.

Jack had returned to his laptop in the sitting area. Rhys stood in the doorway from the kitchen, having just finished up. He cleared his throat, catching Jack’s attention. “I um… I should probably go,” Rhys said, feeling awkward all over again. “I uh…have work to do. But…um, thanks for breakfast and letting me stay. If it’s alright, I’ll just…send the clothes back later.”

“Mm,” Jack acknowledged, looking back at his laptop. His expression gave away nothing.

“I…uh…well, see ya…” Rhys gave a brief wave and started to head for the entryway where his boots had been moved to. His feet stopped. He lingered before the front door, something heavy sitting in his chest. He stared down at his arms and Jack's clothes on his body. Jack’s scent was all over him, strong and present. He was oddly…comforted by it. Rhys remembered the look in Jack’s eyes when he’d seen him like this and _that look_ … It went to him in both the best and worst ways. Rhys turned a glance around the weird, messy, little house.

How long would it be before he had another completely private moment like this with Jack? A week? A month? Even longer? They were both probably going to be even busier now. And what about _him_? How much longer did _he_ have, in general? Nobody had long on Pandora. That much was the only truth he knew for sure. Even Jack hadn’t technically survived Pandora’s wrath. For all Rhys knew, he didn’t have a lot of life left. And he wasn’t infamous enough to be brought back from the grave if he did kick the bucket.

And who knew what was waiting in that vault...

Either way, Rhys wasn’t sure which regret he would rather live (and die) with. The regret of never pursuing his own desires? Or the regret of having done so and it turning out to be a mistake? Did it really matter, in the end?

“Oh, screw it,” he muttered, squashing down all the thoughts yelling about how bad an idea it was at him. He was going to regret this later, he knew, but- but that was later, not now. At least he was certain of the privacy. There was little reason to believe someone would gain the proof of it to ruin Atlas. He hoped. Maybe he was just telling himself that. He turned and strode back into the living room before he lost his nerve.

“Thought you were going,” Jack commented, gaze flicking up. “Forget something?”

“Yeah, I did,” Rhys hissed, his frustration leaking into his words. His tone must’ve taken Jack off guard because Jack’s eyes narrowed. Rhys walked around and leaned in. Jack had a moment to blink before Rhys kissed him, hard. He didn’t have access to Jack’s mouth - it was firmly shut - so he sucked on Jack’s lips for a moment. He bit down, hoping it would spur Jack into a reaction. It did. But it wasn’t the one Rhys wanted. Jack yanked back, eyes wide.

Well, this was awkward. Rhys…wasn’t used to doing this sober.

Jack's fist gripped Rhys’s front, glaring. “What the hell are you playing at, cupcake?”

“What’s the matter, Jack? Don’t want to kiss me anymore?”

“Gotta say, Rhysie,” Jack growled, pushing Rhys back so hard he stumbled. Jack stood up, looming. _Again_. “This playing hard to get shit is…” He shook his head. “-Is pissing me off! You’d better cut this right out now or I’ll put my foot in your ass-”

“I’m not playing hard to get. I- I changed my mind!”

Jack’s expression morphed, darkening. “Well…in that case.” Jack surged forward and ripped the sweater off Rhys, exposing his chest and stomach to the air. “You should’ve friggin _said_ so before you tried that weird lip bite thing.” Jack gripped Rhys and pushed him against the nearest surface. Jack's breath fanned against his neck, his hair tickling Rhys's face. “If you’re having any second thoughts, the door’s over there. You’d better use it _now_.” Jack bit down on his sensitive skin. Not as hard as before, but hard _enough_.

“Oh god-“ Rhys muttered, suddenly dizzy at how quickly this had progressed. This was happening, actually happening-

“Try not to pass out on me, kiddo,” Jack said with a snort. “I know I’m amazing, but gee.“

Rhys jerked involuntarily, gasping, sensations like electricity going up his spine. No, he wasn’t having any second thoughts, not with Jack sucking on his neck so hard. The sensation of Jack moving against him became more pleasurable with every wild heartbeat, and his breathing was reduced to short gasps for air. The room felt hot even with his sweater gone. Maybe it was the way Jack was covering him. He twisted against Jack, moaning with want. Those loose pants felt _very_ tight against his groin now. “Ja-Jack, please-“

Jack’s leg got between his, and _pushed_ -

Rhys’s Echo pinged. Rhys felt Jack’s entire body go stiff against him, a growl of frustration rumbling through his chest. The sound was coming into Rhys’s private link, but Jack was close enough to hear the noise, apparently. “Ignore it,” Jack rasped. It was both an order and a plead.

Rhys _wanted_ to ignore it, so very badly, but through his Echo Eye, he clearly saw that it was marked as _urgent_. “Ugh,” he groaned. “Sorry…I… I have to take this… It might be an emergency.”

“Emergency my ass. The only emergency is the fact we’re both going to get blue balls!”

Jack gave another grind of his thigh against Rhys’s dick.

“Jaack-unnf-“ Rhys complained. Jack wasn’t helping. “Cut it out!” He really just wanted to thrust his hips back against Jack’s leg, though. The Echo pinged again.

Jack made another frustrated noise, but he stepped back, hands raised beside him. “I’m _really_ starting to think you’re doin’ this to me on purpose, pumpkin.”

Rhys caught his breath as well as he could and answered. “What is it?“ he snapped.

“Rhys?” Yvette’s voice said, sounding confused. “Look, I don't know why you sound so weird right now, but you’re going to want to hear this. I just received news. We know who leaked your information.”

Rhys’s whole body went rigid. Any remaining arousal he’d had vanished. He flicked the tip of his cyber finger without thinking, the one with the needle. “Who? Who did it?”

“It was…” there was a clicking sound. “Dr. William Grace. Head of R&D.”

Rhys went cold. “What? _What_?! Are you sure? How is that even possible!” Rhys clenched his own hair with both hands, anger rising. “There’s no way! He couldn’t even have that information- There…there’s no way he could do this!” He was in denial. “Why _would_ he? I gave him everything he had-“

“Rhys! Take a deep breath,” Yvette said. “I don’t know why or how, just the who.”

Rhys groaned. “Is he apprehended at least?”

“No. He disappeared last night. I think he knew he was about to get caught.”

Rhys kicked the floor. “God damn it! I should’ve known, when he got nosy- and, and-“

“This isn’t your fault, but you need to come back to Atlas asap. Grace couldn’t have gone far and we need to contain this as soon as possible.”

“Right,” Rhys said, defeat rising in his chest, “I’ll head back now.”

Yvette hung up. Rhys looked up at Jack, who looked even more agitated.

“I have to go,” Rhys said, snatching the sweater from where Jack had dropped it on the floor. He pulled it back on. “It _is_ an emergency, This…this was probably a bad idea, anyway.” Rhys wondered if this was the universe trying to save him from doing something incredibly stupid. The disappointment was sour in his mouth, though.

“Who did it?” Jack growled, fists balling. “I heard you talkin’, ya know? So who were you yellin’ about?”

“None of your damned business, Hyperion,” Rhys responded, heading for the door.

Jack intercepted, “Whooahho-ho-ho, no. You are _not_ doing this to me, Rhysie. You owe me an explanation at the very least.”

“I don’t owe you shit, Jack!” Rhys snapped. “Get out of my way!” He tried to shove past Jack, but Jack wouldn’t budge.

“You won’t even tell me _why_ you’re running off?”

Rhys exhaled, forcing himself to calm down a little. “You know that information leak? The one I hacked your computer over?”

“Uh huh?”

“Well, turns out, someone at _Atlas_ leaked it. One of my head scientists.”

“You can never trust a scientist.”

Rhys snorted. “Now if you don’t mind, I have to go take care of the situation!”

Jack stepped aside, still frowning. “Don’t think I’m gonna forget the fact you wanna bang now, princess.”

Rhys didn't know what came over him in that moment, but he felt a sharp grin tug at his mouth. "Oh I know," he said, and he did what he'd been wanting to do for awhile now. He grabbed Jack's crotch and squeezed. Rhys heard it in the way Jack's breath changed, the effect it had. Jack's hips jerked a bit.

"Little shit," Jack grunted.

"Asshole." Rhys let go and pulled on his boots, almost falling in the process. He rushed out the door without another glance.


	14. Secret Weapon

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the huge delay, guys. I've been so focused on my other fic Rough Trade and also kinda wound up not liking what I was originally going to write for this chapter. Yesterday I got an amazing idea how to do it though so here it is!
> 
> Blugh there is way too much dialogue this chapter, help.
> 
> Also sorry I haven't replied to comments on my other fic yet but I'll try to do that soon (if anyone was wondering XD)!

Rhys hadn’t slept much for the past few days. A few hours every night before a flood of nightmares would drag him back to reality. Sometimes they involved the cult. Sometimes they involved Jack. Either way, he was wearing thin. He sat at his desk and clutched a lukewarm coffee in cold hands, glaring at the pile of documents before him. He could already tell today would be an “off” day even more than usual. He felt defeated by _everything_. 

The trail on Dr. Grace had run cold. 

After leaving Jack’s, Rhys spent several hours with Yvette and security trying to trace the traitorous asshole. He’d even called up Fiona and Vaughn to help devote more digital power to the cause. But as hours melted into more hours and more and more- 

Eventually it had become clear that no amount of work or sheer effort could find Dr. Grace.

Rhys’s tired gaze switched among the papers, and the part of him that craved a distraction grew larger with each second.

He called Jack. He wasn’t fully sure why, just that he wanted to talk. Or maybe he just wanted to vent. 

“Heyyy, Jack.”

“Whaddya want, pumpkin. I’m pretty busy right now." 

“Well things here have been shit,” Rhys said, sighing. “We lost our.... the traitor.”

“‘Course you did.”

It wasn't that Rhys had been expecting emotional support, but...Jack seemed a bit more dickish than usual. Rhys was torn between annoyance and feeling a bit guilty for how he'd last departed Jack's company. "Look...sorry, I ran out like that I just…  Betrayal is a helluva moodkiller, haha.” He sucked in a breath. “Maybe we should… Do you want to schedule a pick up for...um where we left off?” He asked, biting his lip. “Er, sometime. Doesn’t have to be...immediately, uh… But the sooner- I mean, I would want...um...”

There was a long, weird pause, one that made Rhys squirm. They’d admitted to wanting this, hadn’t they? Why weren’t they past this weirdness yet? 

“Yeah, maybe.”

That stung. _What?_ Rhys felt his heart sinking. “ _Maybe_?” He echoed in disbelief, given how hard Jack had been trying to get into his pants before.

“Look it’s getting really busy here, sweetie, why don’t you call back later?”

“ _Sweetie_?”

The line went dead.

Jack had hung up.

Rhys tangled his fingers into his hair and _pulled_ , not caring if he messed up his slicked back locks. He resisted the urge to yell. Jack was obviously pissed at him. But it was really weird. Jack was usually more than ready to let everyone know when he was mad and exactly how much. Now, he seemed really reserved. What was this? Rhys couldn’t stand it. Maybe there was more to it than Jack being angry at him, but he couldn’t be bothered to actually worry about what menial shit might have set Jack off this time.

He had too much to stress over already. He decided he needed to just forget about Jack for the moment. He could play around later. Yeah. It’d been an amazing time lately.

A call came onto the Echo. Rhys perked up, half hoping it was Jack.

It was an unknown caller.

Rhys deflated. He almost didn’t pick up, but he knew he didn’t have much choice. It could be important, and with the current lay of things...

“Hello?” he answered.

“Hello, Rhys.”

Rhys felt white-hot adrenaline flood his body. He leapt out of his seat, clutching the desk. His coffee mug hit the floor, shattering, but he didn’t care. “Dr. _Grace-_ I really, really hope you’re enjoying yourself right now, buddy, because you don’t have a lot of time left to enjoy _anything_ at all!” Rhys sent a quick message through his Echo Eye to Yvette to have her trace the call.

“If it’s any consolation, Rhys, I would have preferred it not coming to this, but...”

“What is _that_ supposed to mean?” Rhys demanded. “Why did you do this?”

“Because of Jack.”

“What?”

“Handsome Jack is back, and he is a threat, especially to you.”

“Says the guy that sold me out.”

Grace responded, but Rhys glared at nothing and missed it. He was too distracted with the mental image of wrapping his cyber fingers around Grace’s neck and crushing that traitorous asshole’s windpipe. "What?" He asked.

"I said, where do you think I got that data to sell you out with.”

“I can’t imagine. And believe me I have been _trying_.”

“After Helios’s crash, there were a lot of sturdy Hyperion data cores just...lying around down there near the Helios camp. Anyone with a modicum of hacking skills was picking it all apart to sell.”

Rhys rolled his eyes. “The info you have wouldn’t have been in Helios’s database, it-”

“-it was.”

“I didn’t tell _anyone_ that data. Nobody could have recorded it-”

”You told one person. Years ago.”

Rhys blinked. He had a sinking feeling. _Shit_ …

“I sold you out, but it was going to happen sooner or later. Now you can take the fight to them on your terms.” 

How was this on Rhys’s terms? “You mean _yours_?” He spat. 

“ _Ours_ ,” Dr. Grace said. “...I believe that if you are willing to go against Jack, we could wield a mighty weapon against the cult. He has something...behind that door in Opportunity. Something the Followers of the Azure Sun fear and want. It could destroy them. And more. Consider it.”

Rhys laughed. “Wouldn’t you like that, you dickwad?”

“Haven’t you wondered why Jack hides it from you? The weapon?” 

Rhys scowled and said nothing. Jack hadn’t said it was a weapon exactly….but come to think of it, that door was pretty ominous. "Why should I believe you?"

"You have the means to check these accusations yourself. Helios is still there. So should the info be too."

“Right...well, I understand this is a lot. And that you’ll need time to investigate...so I don’t expect an immediate answer…”

“I don’t care if you’re right. I'll deal with the cult without you. And Jack... Dr. Grace, _nobody_ betrays Atlas and lives. Nobody betrays _me_. When I find you...”

“Right. You’re angry now, but I think with time you’ll understand.”

“Fuck you.”

“Also, I am well aware that this call is being traced, but you will not find me that way. I have bounced the signal from multiple towers. It would take well over an hour to truly trace it. I have to go now.”

“No, no, no, don’t hang up-” 

“Goodbye, Rhys. We’ll speak again. Maybe sooner rather than later. Who knows?”

The line went dead and Rhys stood there, glaring at his desk.  

“FUCK!” He yelled, knocking stuff off of the desk and onto the floor. He hated the way Dr. Grace’s words made a horrible kind of sense. He stormed for the office entrance, calling Yvette. “Yeah. Contact the shuttle bay and have them get me a buzzard. I have somewhere I need to be. Also could you see if Fiona’s available? I might need a grifter right now.”

“Sure thing, Rhys.”

* * *

The buzzard drifted over the shattered Pandoran wasteland, traveling south for well over an hour. For the last twenty minutes or so, the looming scarred remains of Helios had towered in the distance, growing larger with each passing minute. It was a behemoth of a ruined structure, and there was a part of Rhys that felt bitter nostalgia at the sight of it. He pushed that away. There were more important things to think of.

Rhys, Fiona, and Aurelia rode the buzzard. Most of the ride had been fairly quiet. Rhys hadn’t been able to stop brooding on the suspicions knotted in his gut. Handsome Jack wasn’t someone he could trust. He’d known that. Since day one. But since day one, it was...something he’d wanted. He couldn’t trust him, and denying that just kept biting him in the ass. 

Maybe...maybe there was something else going on he couldn’t see. But that seemed needlessly optimistic. 

He just wanted to curl up in a dark room for awhile.

“I don’t suppose you’d explain more about what’s going on?” Fiona asked.

“I can’t be certain at the moment,” Rhys replied. “It’s like I said. I need data from Helios.”

"What sort of data, though?"

"Data that will tell us if Dr. Grace is lying to us or not."

They landed in the designated landing zone. Vaughn appeared in seconds, clasping first Rhys, and then Fiona in a hug. “Great to see you guys again! Welcome back to Helios! Nice to meet you, Lady Hammerlock.”

"The pleasure is mine, of course."

For the next two days, they explored the wreckage in the nearby hills, trying to avoid the wildlife to the best of their abilities. Vaughn, Aurelia, and Fiona made for decent bodyguards against the skags and bullymongs, and Fiona was pretty good at finding valuable data drives and metals to sell.

Rhys finally found what he was looking for in a crevice after they'd blasted a hoard of spider ants away. A few data cores from a main hub. "Come on, lets head back and see what we've got here."

* * *

"So...Dr. Grace wasn't lying....exactly."

Rhys leaned against the desk, blowing air out of his cheeks. He’d spent the last few days digging and decoding the mountains of data from the cores, most of it useless, still barely sleeping. He’d finally found what he needed, though. And it twisted his gut. “I guess...I’m not overly surprised or anything. Grace’s story checks out...and there really wasn’t any other way he could get that information.” Rhys dropped his head. “He’s right. The cult would have gotten it sooner or later, with it strewn all out here in Helios and people picking up the garbage to sell to hackers and data-miners and... _shit…_ ” He sucked in a breath.

“The only reason the info is there at all is because of Jack. He's the only one who ever knew. It was a long time ago- he assured me he would never keep a record of it."

"Why'd you tell him at all?"

"I..." Rhys sighed. "I was going to be thrown out because I wasn't supposed to be on the shuttle for Helios. Jack was going to do it... so I played the sad sob-story card and it didn't work until I went in depth on the details... Plus, I..." _I wanted to trust him, even then._ "It was before the mask and...the crazy."

Fiona patted Rhys’s shoulder. She’d been listening to his ranting for awhile now. He appreciated that. “Well, if it’s any consolation, I guess Jack didn’t _mean_ to get you in trouble? This time? I suppose he kept the file for himself.”

“No, it’s just…” Rhys straightened up and looked at her, seeing the worry brimming in her gaze. Fiona never liked to admit her caring, but he knew most of her actions were born of a need to protect the ones she cared about. “If...If Jack is _this_ paranoid and untrusting and a liar at his best…then what is he at his worst? I...what is there to look for in someone like that?”

Fiona folded her arms, lips quirking. “Well...I would normally say _‘monster’_ but this conversation doesn’t feel right for that, oddly enough.”

“No, no, you’re right.” Rhys slumped again, back against the desk. “I just...what do I even _do_ with this information. Go yell at him over it? God, he probably doesn’t even remember. He doesn’t remember how I joined Hyperion so… He didn't even remember _me_ from before.” Rhys put his face in his hands. “How am I going to figure out why he did it? And...how do we get past this? It feels like every time I might consider giving him...not a chance, exactly, but...a doubt? Something like this happens.”

Fiona also leaned against the desk so she could catch Rhys’s gaze. “Why worry so much over it? Just cut off the partnership. He’ll deal with it. And if not, take him out. He’s either your enemy or he’s not.”

“It’s not that simple…”

“And why not?” She asked, eyebrows raised. “I know you’re all buddy buddy with him as much as possible, but this is a whole new level of buddying up even for you.”

“Because I...  Fi. I like him- a lot.” It slipped out.

“You... _like_ him?” She echoed dryly, straightening up. “Are you a pre-schooler suddenly?”

Rhys also straightened up, glaring. “Fine. I want to have sex with Handsome Jack. Is that adult enough for you?”

Fiona gaped, looking scandalized for a moment. Her expression fell into disbelief and anger. “Wait...you’re...you’re freakin’ _serious_?!”

“We almost did have sex too.”

“Uuugh,” Fiona grimaced, taking two steps back as if he’d hit her in the face. “Like I want to know that! God what is wrong with you? It's _Handsome Jack_! This isn't just some random bad boy you can have a one night stand with, Rhys. He's a psychopathic mass murdering asshole who tried to take over Pandora!”

“It’s not like...there’s a lot of people who are better in the...dating pool.” He cleared his throat.

Fiona just raised a brow. “Okay, you know what. This is exactly a _you_ thing, isn’t it? Why am I surprised at all?”

Her tone made him defensive. “I can't help who I'm attracted to!”

“You can help who you spread your legs for!“

The door to the information room opened, startling Rhys. He glanced up to see Aurelia strolling in. She paused. “Things seem a bit tense in here,” she observed. "Don't mind me."

“Oh, hey,” Rhys said, “Aurelia.”

“Hey, darling,” she greeted. She walked gracefully across the room and sat down on the only stool available, still managing to be quite tall. “Now what’s all this ruckus about?” She leaned forward with interest.

Fiona face-palmed. “Don’t make me repeat it.” 

"She's mad that I...like Jack. A lot. Sexually."

Fiona's winced again. " _Handsome_ Jack- and quit reminding me! I mean, we also just found out he's the reason you're in trouble, too!"

Aurelia hesitated, hand on her chin in thought. “Handsome Jack...the name seems familiar.”

“Wait, you don’t know?” Fiona asked. “Handsome Jack...as in _the_ Jack. From Hyperion. Tried to take over Pandora.”

“Oh yes, I recall now. Pandora’s last contender for the ultimate throne. Quite an accomplishment that would be, dear Rhys. But didn't that poor fool shuffle off his mortal coil?”

"He came back."

Fiona looked even more distraught. “You’re _complimenting_ him?!”

“Why yes? Jack may be of low birth and all, but he did open vaults, gain power and wealth, and there is something to be respected in that. You know, Rhys dear, Jack hired me once, to find a vault on Elpis. It was a fun little venture. He wasn’t quite off the rails as he is now, but he certainly knew how to find _exciting_ work.”

Rhys’s interest piqued. “You remember...how he used to be?” Rhys leaned in, he didn’t know why that made him so happy. “Before the mask?”

“Indeed. One might even say I had a firsthand seat to watching his growing madness.”

“What was it like?” Rhys whispered. "The madness bit, I mean."

Aurelia giggled as if giddy. “It was exciting! But Jack himself became quite too quarrelsome for my tastes, so I sought amusements elsewhere after the assignment. Although, I did return for the... Actually, I...would rather not speak of that…” She shuddered. "Ugh, _claptraps_."

“Hah, that’s so cool!” Rhys said. “I wish...I could’ve worked more closely with Jack back then. I didn’t get to know him very well before...well before he got stuck in my head. But I had met him.”

"Oooh, yes, the AI. Fiona has told me something of that adventure. Must make the...desire more intense. I would have taken the AI and made it my personal servant."

Rhys coughed. "Uh- sure, well-"

Fiona spoke up loudly. “Are we really just going to casually discuss this?" .

"It's fascinating," Aurelia said. "So what seems to be the issue? Something about Jack causing you trouble?"

"Well," Rhys started. Maybe an outside perspective wouldn't be so bad. Especially one that was so far judgement free, unlike with literally everyone else who'd found out about this. "Jack...made a file a long time ago when I first joined Hyperion. That file got out recently and it's...put me in danger. I don't think he meant to do it, but... Stuff like this keeps happening. I don't know that I can trust him."

"Seems to me you should talk to him about the file and see if his answer is less than satisfactory or not."

Rhys laughed. "Yeah, you would think. But one does not simply discuss trust issues with Handsome Jack."

"And why not?"

"I..." Rhys hesitated. "I don't know if he would remember, it was so long ago. And even if he did, I don't think he would understand what he did wrong. Or really be able to offer anything that would...make it easier to deal with."

Aurelia shifted, still thoughtful. "I can offer only this. Everyone has their demons, Rhys. It only matters if your demons can get along with theirs. So, do they?"

Rhys wasn't sure how to respond to that. It was almost odd how at ease he'd gotten with Aurelia in such a short time. She was an incredible person.

Fiona walked over to Aurelia, arms crossed. "You're just...going to validate his weird fixation on Jack?"

"Why not?"

"Jack is...a lot worse than maybe you remember? He's killed a lot of people for no other reason than to conquer a planet."

Aurelia folded her hands, still perfectly graceful. “My mother was a warlock, darling. She conquered planets with our corporation not unlike this Jack wanted to, in much the same way - just with fewer vaults and a larger, deadlier army. She brought a lot of pain and misery. And...I was not idle. I helped. It was expected. Father and...Alistair...both chickened out and fled, but I stayed. I wanted to be just like her.”

Fiona blinked a few times. “I..” she trailed off. “I mean...but you don’t do that anymore, though. That was a long time ago." 

“Bring war? True. War’s not really my style, as you know… But you and I, we have a lot of fun killing things when we train. I had fun killing things before I came here, conquering things. I understand this Jack being a person you hate for your own personal reasons, but you should at least give Mr. Rhys a little less heat when he has known another side of the story… Just as you might hope for if one of my victims wanted to harm me.”

Fiona looked at Rhys. “So...what you’re saying is I don’t have a right to judge because we’re together...”

Aurelia made an affirmative noise.

“Ugh, Rhys,” Fiona said, leaning on Aurelia’s shoulder and sighing. “My life was a lot simpler until your dumb robo-arm dropped that fake vault key.”

“You realize I would have been killed over that,” Rhys pointed out, “if I had brought back that fake vault key back to Hyperion. The board would’ve airlocked me themselves....”

“In my defense...I figured any Hyperion stooge would deserve it.”

“My point is... I’ve forgiven you for a lot, you know. And I’m not asking you to like Jack or even forgive him,” Rhys said. “I can’t even imagine circumstances in which you could. But could you _please_ , stop being so vitriolic and coming down on me over this?" He grimaced. “I’m not mad, exactly, I just… When I need a friend, you can either be one, or not.”

“Rhys…” she said, a certain understanding seeming to come across her features. “I...you’re right. I’ve been...unfair to you… A lot of the things I’ve said, some of it was for fun, but some was just me being a dick. I...I’m sorry.”

Rhys smiled a bit. “I’ll spare you the pain of dragging this out and just accept it.”

“I throw myself on your mercy,” she said dryly. “But don’t ever expect me to like that man.”

“Oh don’t worry. I won’t. I’m pretty sure I just said that, too.”

“You did. Just wanted to reiterate it.” She grimaced again. “Also please never share details of your sex life, especially if it involves _him_. I prefer not to be this nauseated.”

“Fine by me.” 

“I guess...I should at least talk to him about this,” Rhys sighed. “Ugh…At this point I’d _rather_ yell.”

“I wish you luck, darling.” Aurelia said. “Now, Fi, shall we do some hunting? The hills here are with all sorts of fun monsters, and with the time of the vault approaching, you should brush up on those skills!”

“There’s still a couple months.”

“Come on, I’ll make it worth your while,” Aurelia whispered, clutching Fiona’s shoulder.

Fiona snorted with presumable embarrassment, face darkening. “Sure? How can I possibly say no to _that_?”

Rhys coughed and made for the door. “Well, I guess I should fly up to Opportunity then.” He turned, walking backwards. “Also, could this...keeping our sex lives a secret thing go both ways, please?”

Fiona flushed darker. “Fine by me.”

Rhys hit the door but ignored the ache in his shoulder. He spun and hurried out with all the speed of someone who'd just had a brand put to their skin.

Rhys was halfway down the hallway when his file decryptor popped up a fresh notification. In big red letters. _IMPORTANT_. He paused and read through it. LEVEL 4 ACCESS REQUIRED. DIVINE BEING. ERIDIUM INPUT 100% There was an image in the file of a young woman with dark hair and glowing light surrounding here, wings, a halo. She looked. Like an angel.

What on Pandora? Rhys froze, breath leaving him.

Level 4.

That door in Opportunity was Level 4 clearance. 

_The Weapon._

Eridium.

Dr. Grace hadn't lied about the other thing.

Adrenaline spiked in Rhys.

Any doubts on whether approaching Jack was the right move or not fled his mind. He practically ran to the landing pad and waiting buzzard, not even bothering to bid his friends goodbye.

* * *

Rhys flew down to Opportunity, in spite of his exhaustion. He called ahead so that his buzzard wouldn’t be shot down. He tried to prepare himself for the inevitable confrontation between him and Jack. He went to the house he’d last been with Jack in. To his surprise, knocking was ignored, and when he tried to open it, it slid open just fine. He checked Jack’s home, which was empty. In fact, it all was _very_ empty. Had Jack...moved out? It made sense. Hyperion’s CEO could hardly do with staying in this room forever, could he? Where had he moved to? Or maybe Rhys had gotten the wrong place. He could’ve sworn...

Rhys stepped back outside, casting his gaze around the city. His eyes landed on the main building that now had people coming and going. Someone there would surely know. He strode in and inquired at the desk. In fact, Jack’s new office was in the main building. After some directions, he made his way up to find a secretary, a sharp eyed woman with short hair.

“Who are you?” she said, eyes flicking up and down, clearly unimpressed.

“Atlas CEO, Rhys,” he said, keeping his tone pleasant. “I need to see Jack.” He pointedly ignored the fact he was a little behind on his self-care. His appearance was less than up to par. He didn't care, though. This was too important.

She looked at her computer. “You don’t have an appointment, and it is after hours. You’ll have to schedule.”

“Yeah, right,” Rhys muttered, and started for the door.

“I really wouldn’t if I were you,” she called after him. “Have you not heard he likes to kill people?”

Rhys ignored her and entered the room. The hall was short, and when he reached the large office, he found the room was much like the old office. There was a spacious view of the large, lush gardens in the back of Opportunity, and the main difference Rhys noticed was the lack of giant, gold Jack statues.

“What the hell?” Jack snapped, looking up. “ _Rhys_?” He took a second. “How’d you get past the secretary?”

“I kept walking. Nice office.”

“What are you doing here?”

“I’m here to talk about a few things. Important business and all.”

“Why didn’t you call ahead, idiot? I’m busy.”

“Well, that must suck.” Rhys quipped, standing before the desk. “Someone demanding your attention when it’s inconvenient for you?”

Jack glared at him for a moment before he resumed typing away for awhile, and Rhys thought he was ignoring him. Finally, Jack turned to him, the scowl still stuck on his face. “Fine. Talk.”

“So you know how I told you I was sold out to a cult?”

Jack folded his arms. “What about it.”

“My fucking scientist got that information from _you_.” Rhys hadn’t meant to snap exactly. He’d meant to talk calmly. But his lack of sleep combined with Jack’s dickish attitude was getting to him.

“Me?” Jack echoed. “The hell does that mean? I sure as shit don't have that info?”

“He found the file on my past in Hyperion’s systems.”

“So it coulda been anyone recording that info-”

Rhys raised a finger, anger flashing through him. Something in the movement stilled Jack. “Don’t. Insult. Me. You think I didn’t consider and investigate every possibility before coming here? No, Jack, it wasn’t just _anyone_ ,” Rhys stepped forward, glaring. “It was _you._ You’re the one who hired me. You’re the one who knew my situation! You promised me then, that you would never make a traceable file of that shit, but you _did_!”

“And there’s no other possibility!? I don’t remember hiring you, much less making a _file_ , princess! I don’t even know what the frig this cult is!”

“Yeah, of course you don’t,” Rhys snorted. “It was a long time ago. And I know it was _you_ who made the file because I went down to Helios this week and mined that info myself.” Rhys gripped his hair. “How am I supposed to _trust_ you, Jack? Past you was a liar. This you is a liar. You’re just….a liar!” He hissed. “And trusting you has only ever bitten me in the ass. What am I supposed to do?!”  

Jack stood then, sending the chair crashing back. “I can’t speak on something I don’t even remember, pumpkin. But how do you know that _your_ memory isn’t also shit. Can you really be sure I'm your only suspect!? Anyone at Hyperion could've made the file!”

"The file had your signature in it. You wrote it. I'd show you but I just don't have the time to prove myself to you. I don't need to."

Jack said nothing.

Rhys shook his head, stepping to the side of the desk. “Wow, that’s the best you got, eh? I was hoping you would at least have something somewhat convincing, but I guess that just makes what I have to do next that much easier, huh?”

“What the hell does that mean?”

Rhys pulled his gun and aimed at Jack’s forehead. “I want you to know I’m not scared of you anymore.”

Jack’s eyes widened with fury. “Woohoo, good for you, you little asshole! Just what the frig is this?”

“Here’s what’s going to happen, Jack,” Rhys said. “We’re going to take a stroll over to that computer lab you were working in, and you’re gonna open that door and show me what you’ve been keeping from me. If I don’t like what I see…” he trailed off, flicking the safety on the gun.

“You think that little twig pistol is going to break my shield?” Jack asked.

Rhys grinned. “My guns bypass shields. Surely you’ve seen the adverts?”

“You wouldn’t shoot me, Rhys.”

“Are you willing to gamble on that? You’ve endangered me. You lied to me. And now you’re refusing to show me your secret weapon. What’s a guy to think? I admit, I don’t much care for guns. I prefer...less messy means of demise, but I needed to make sure you understood the danger.”

Jack slumped. “Fine. If you wanna see what’s behind the damned door so bad, let’s friggin do it.” Jack walked toward the door of the office. Rhys followed, keeping his gun trained on Jack. When the secretary saw, she gasped. “It’s alright,” Jack said to her. “Don’t bother with security.”

“But- sir-!”

“I said don’t!” Jack called back. 

They walked out the door, down the street, and toward the building. Rhys said nothing. Jack muttered to himself in discontentment. 

When they reached the door, Jack paused. "You're really gonna be kicking yourself, buttercup," he sneered. "You know, I was gonna show you soon, but you just had to be a dick about this, didn't you?"

“Yeah, sure. Just open it,” Rhys hissed. “No tricks, alright?”

Jack went up to the door and stood before a bioscan.

“Please input voice password!” said a cheery automated voice.

Jack spoke without hesitating. “I’m sorry.”

At first, Rhys was confused, but when the doors opened, he realized that must’ve been the password. Seemed a rather odd password, but he decided not to ask. He didn’t know if it would put Jack in a mood or not. Well, more of a mood. 

They stepped into the circular chamber, its darkness interrupted by a blue light from the center, emanating from a large...glass cylinder? It was filled to the brim with the odd liquid, and Rhys’s eyes were drawn up, following the tubes up to the ceiling. “What the…” he trailed off when he realized there was something else in the tube. “Is that…? A person?” Rhys asked with some shock, making out the outline of a body within the tank. This made no sense? What was Jack doing here?

“Yep,” Jack said, walking over to the console. “I...brought ‘er back.” His voice lowered, and a heaviness seemed to drop his shoulders from their normal carriage. “My...Angel.”

Rhys gaped, lowering his gun and turning to Jack. “You brought your daughter back!?” The file he'd found at Helios made more sense.

“I had to, okay?” Jack said. “I...I thought you would understand, considering you're the only one who knows about how she...” His expression darkened. "So you see, Rhys, this is not a big scary secret weapon? She's my _daughter_." There was absolute venom in his tone.

“I-” Rhys hastened to say, “no, yeah, I do understand,” which, actually wasn’t a lie. He remembered how heavy Jack’s voice had been. Was this the only person Jack cared about now? “...I’m just...surprised that you could.”

“I studied how the information I had on how those idiots brought me back. Angel was...deeply connected to the bunker where she was housed at… I had everything I needed there to...create a backup of her, the way Nakayama made one of me.” His fists tightened. “You see, Rhys, this was the only thing that made me feel like there was any point in trying to start over. I had lost every-fucking-thing I had. But knowing...knowing I could fix this… I knew I could fix it _all_. And I'm going to, Rhys. I promise you that.”

Rhys took a couple of steps toward the tank, but it was hard to make out any details of the figure within. “Just a quick question,” Rhys started. “If she- if she couldn’t control her powers before…” he trailed off, crumpling under the icy gaze fixed on him.

“This time it will be different. I’d hoped I could bring her back without her powers, but it’s too wired into her DNA. That is why I hooked her up with some new implants that should help - and they will help her control her powers this time. This time, they won’t be the end of her…” Something in Jack’s eyes seemed to be left unspoken. "This time, she can have her life."

“Aww, isn’t that so sweet?” said a third voice.

Jack’s eyes widened. Rhys felt a full shudder go down his body and he spun around, gun hanging in his grasp more loosely than he wanted. He aimed it all the same.

“Who knew he cared?" The woman's voice echoed through the chamber as she stepped in. She was tall, wizened, and her cloak shifted with each step. “Oh that’s right. We did.”

“It’s...her,” Rhys breathed in disbelief.

“You know this chick?” Jack asked. "I've seen her before, but-"

“It’s the Matriarch.”

“Well,” she said in a soft tone, “it certainly has been some time, hasn’t it, Rhys?”

“She’s...uh, head of the cult,” Rhys said, clearing his throat. “And uh...also my mother.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know if something doesn't make sense. I didn't edit as deeply as I normally do because I'm tired of being stuck on this part of the fic and just wanted it done.


End file.
